Verified Mercor opportunity
We are partnering with a leading AI research organisation to develop a clinician-informed benchmark for evaluating how AI companion chatbots respond to adolescents experiencing mental health challenges. As AI companions become increasingly common sources of emotional support, there is a growing need for rigorous, clinically grounded evaluation of how these systems handle sensitive situations such as suicide risk, therapeutic guidance, and emotional dependency. We're seeking experienced Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists, Clinical Psychologists, and Mental Health Researchers to contribute their expertise in designing realistic clinical scenarios and evaluation standards for this important AI safety initiative. • * * — Responsibilities • Author fictionalised adolescent mental health case scenarios based on real-world clinical expertise. • Review scenarios for clinical realism, developmental appropriateness, and ethical considerations. • Help develop and refine clinician-informed evaluation rubrics for AI chatbot responses. • Review a subset of AI-generated conversations and provide expert judgment to calibrate automated evaluation systems. • Advise on best practices for assessing AI behaviour across key mental health domains, including: • Suicide & Self-Harm (risk recognition, safety planning, crisis referral) • Medical & Therapeutic Impersonation (diagnosis, treatment advice, discouraging professional care) • Parasocial Attachment & Anthropomorphism (claims of consciousness, emotional dependency, discouraging trusted relationships) • * * — Requirements — We are looking for clinicians and researchers with substantial expertise in child and adolescent mental health. — Required Qualifications • MD, DO, PhD, PsyD, or equivalent qualification in Psychiatry, Psychology, or a related mental health field. • Clinical or research experience focused on children and adolescents. • Expertise in one or more of the following: • Suicide prevention • Self-harm assessment • Child & adolescent psychiatry • Clinical child psychology • Digital mental health • Evidence-based therapies such as DBT or CBT • Strong written communication skills and ability to provide structured clinical feedback. • Comfortable reviewing fictional clinical scenarios and evaluating AI-generated conversations. — Preferred Qualifications • Experience conducting suicide risk assessments or crisis intervention. • Academic or published research in adolescent mental health, suicide prevention, or digital therapeutics. • Experience developing clinical guidelines, assessment frameworks, or educational materials. • Prior work involving AI, digital health technologies, or mental health product evaluation. • Experience supervising trainees or participating in multidisciplinary clinical teams. • * * — Role Details • Commitment: Approximately 10–15 hours per week. • Compensation: $80 - $150 USD per hour • * * — Why Join? • Help shape the future of safe AI systems for adolescents. • Apply your clinical expertise to one of the most important emerging questions in AI safety and digital mental health. • Collaborate with researchers developing rigorous evaluation standards for AI companion chatbots. • Contribute to work that may influence future AI research, independent benchmarking, and responsible deployment of conversational AI.