Exciting news! 🎉 I’ve been awarded the ISF Beresheet Grant (~₪7M) to launch the Resilience & Recovery Lab at Haifa University. 🧠 Our STRONG project will examine how people & communities recover from trauma - through surveys, behavioral & fMRI studies - to uncover resilience & guide interventions. 💪

"Emotional influence isn’t a glitch. It’s a core feature of large language models (LLMs). If we celebrate their ability to comfort or advise, we must also confront their capacity to mislead or manipulate." 🤖😇😈 🔗Read here: nature.com/articles/d41... 📰Full PDF: rdcu.be/eugi1 Thank you @nature.com 🙏

Virtual chatbots that simulate conversations with famous actors or sci-fi characters can have real-world consequences, says Ziv Ben-Zion https://go.nature.com/44nUTQo

Thank you @nature.com 🙏👌🤩

🌟 Exciting news! 🌟 📰 My piece on safeguards for emotionally responsive AI has been accepted in @nature.com! 🥳 I’m deeply honored to contribute to one of the world’s most respected scientific journals. 🙏 It goes live on July 1st, stay tuned! 🗓️ #Nature #AI#LLMs #Ethics #MentalHealth #WorldView

Honored to bring home the 2025 Society of Biological Psychiatry #SOBP Travel Award! 🥳✈️🧠 Toronto’s meeting was a blast. Huge thanks to the SOBP committee, my mentors & collaborators for making this possible. 🙏 @yaleschoolofmed.bsky.social @haifaresearch.bsky.social @wutsaiyale.bsky.social

#SOBP2025 Come see my poster (#17) today at 5:30pm! I am excited to share our latest findings on assessing and alleviating anxiety in large language models 🧠🤖 Stop and say hi 👋

Off to the Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP) Annual Meeting 2025! ✈️🇨🇦🧠

How to predict PTSD severity by brain connectivity patterns (📰Jerusalem Post, Apr 14, 2025) 🔗 www.jpost.com/health-and-w...

Our work featured in @haaretzcom.bsky.social 📰🧠💥 www.haaretz.com/science-and-...

Excited to share a new piece about our research in @haaretzcom.bsky.social !🧠📰 Grateful to my co-authors: @ayejaysimon.bsky.social, @orduek.bsky.social, @ifatlevy.bsky.social, @harpaz-rotem.bsky.social & @dscheinost.bsky.social 🙏 🔗 Read here: www.haaretz.co.il/health/2025-...

This research seems to give people anxiety. There's the usual LLMs don't have "real" feelings outrage but I suspect many are worried that if LLMs nevertheless display all observable aspects of feelings, that's as real as things get. After all, nobody can specify any fundamental difference.

📻It was a pleasure to talk with @theworld.org radio show about how "Chatbots playing therapist could show signs of anxiety". 🎵 Listen here: theworld.org/segments/202... @natureportfolio.nature.com @springernature.com @yaleschoolofmed.bsky.social @wutsaiyale.bsky.social @wutsaiyale.bsky.social

Excited to get this collaborative paper out from my rotation with @dscheinost.bsky.social

In a new @jama.com study, @yaleschoolofmed.bsky.social's @zivbenzion.bsky.social + Alexander Simon used fMRI 🧠📷 to train machine learning models 💻 which could predict the severity of #PTSD symptoms 📈--offering a way to improve how we detect & care for the disease!

🚨 Big News! Our research has been featured in The New York Times @nytimes.com! 🥳 This engagement highlights the real-world impact of science beyond academia and its role in shaping conversations on AI & mental health. 🔗 Link: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/science/chatgpt-digital-therapists-anxiety.html

How does ChatGPT respond to emotional conversations? 🤖 Our latest research dives into AI, mental health, and human-AI interaction—sparking important discussions! 🙏 Now featured in Fortune Magazine @fortunemagazine.bsky.social 📰🔗👇 fortune.com/2025/03/09/o...

🚨 New Publication Alert! 🚨 1/ Can early brain connectivity predict who will develop PTSD after trauma? 🧠🔍 Check out our new study, published today in JAMA Network Open! jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... @orduek.bsky.social @ifatlevy.bsky.social @harpaz-rotem.bsky.social 🧠🧵👇

A machine learning model using brain imaging predicts PTSD symptom severity over time, offering insights into brain connectivity and potential new treatment targets. doi.org/g87q9k

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‏היה תענוג להתארח היום בפודקאסט שלושה שיודעים של ‎כאן 11 @kan.org.il בהנחיית אורי גוטליב! דיברנו על שאלות מרתקות: האם בינה מלאכותית יכולה להרגיש? אולי גם היא זקוקה לטיפול רגשי? למי שפספס, ההקלטה זמינה כאן: www.kan.org.il/content/kan/...

🚨 Fresh off the press! We showed that one can extract an anxious response from an LLM by including traumatic narratives into the prompt, and interestingly, we can bring the response back to baseline by using mindfulness prompts 😌 It was a fun collaboration, thanks for bringing us on board!! :)

🚀 Just 5 days since publication, our paper is already the #1 trending article on @natureportfolio.nature.com npj Digital Medicine! 🥳 🤖 Check out how we induced anxiety in Chat-GPT using traumatic narratives - then calmed it down with mindfulness & meditation: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 📝

Found this study today, which uses STAI scores developed for adult humans to assess AI emotions. Showcases how *urgently* other fields need #consciousness #science to make progress on AI consicousness questions. @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🚨New Paper Alert! Our latest research in npj Digital Medicine explores two unusual questions: 1⃣ Can Chat-GPT experience state anxiety?💥🤖 2⃣ If so, can we reduce it? 📉 A thread on how we "took Chat-GPT to therapy" 🧵👇 Full text available here: rdcu.be/ebZ9v

I'm happy to join the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC) and the Haifa Brain and Behavior Hub (HBBH) at the University of Haifa! 🧠👨‍🎓🤝 hbbh.haifa.ac.il/en/2025/02/1... ibbrc.haifa.ac.il/dr-ziv-ben-z...

No words can explain the pain. Shiri, Kfir & Ariel - kidnapped from their home on Oct 7 & murdered by Hamas monsters in captivity. You will always be in our hearts 💔💔💔

For nearly 500 days, we have been waiting for the 73 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza to be released. 🎗️

Exciting news! I'm joining Haifa University’s School of Public Health as an Assistant Professor!🥳My lab will study neural mechanisms of stress vulnerability & resilience🧠, a key public health challenge in Israel 🇮🇱. Grateful to all who supported me & excited for what’s ahead!🙏

A picture worth a thousands words: Liri Albag (19) released after 477 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza runs to embrace her siblings. Welcome home, Liri ❤️ 📷: GPO

They waited 477 days for this moment: Naama, Daniella, Karina, and Liri embrace their siblings and loved ones, finally free after enduring 477 days of unimaginable horrors in Hamas captivity in Gaza.🎗️ 📷: GPO

🚨BREAKING: Four Israeli women—Naama, Karina, Daniella, and Liri—have been released from Hamas captivity after 477 days and have arrived safely in Israel. They will reunite with their families shortly and undergo thorough medical examinations.

Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher reunite with their families at a hospital in Israel after enduring 471 days in Hamas terrorist captivity in Gaza. Credit: GPO

🚨BREAKING: Three Israeli women—Romi, Emily, and Doron—have been released from Hamas captivity and have arrived safely in Israel. They will reunite with their families shortly and undergo thorough medical examinations.

Thank you, Fulbright Israel, for including me in the Alumni Achievements Magazine 2024! 🙏🎓🇺🇸🇮🇱 www.fulbrightisrael-magazine.org/alumni/dr-zi...

🚨 New Publication Alert 🚨 Excited to share our latest review, published in Annual Review of Psychology 📝. With my mentor, Prof. Ifat Levy (@ifatlevy.bsky.social), we explore how the brain represents rewards 🏆 & punishments ⚡. Here’s a breakdown of the key insights! 🧵👇 [1/9] doi.org/10.1146/annu...

Was honored last week by Lviv mayor at my 5th training mission to Lviv Unbroken Rehab Center Ukraine. Amazing group of physicians/psychologists to work with who are fighting to win the war and bedside with patients. Thanks @noahsphilipmd.bsky.social who joined to provide TMS training this round!