ATLANTA, Georgia, USA, June 3, 2025 — In a groundbreaking interview published today in the peer-reviewed journal Psychedelics, Dr. Deanna M. Kaplan unveils an innovative leap in clinical science through the integration of voice technology and artificial intelligence. As an Assistant Professor at Emory University School of Medicine and Director of Health Technologies for Spiritual Health at Emory Healthcare, Dr. Kaplan has pioneered novel methods to decode the nuances of human experience in everyday life, challenging conventional boundaries of psychological research.
Dr. Kaplan’s career trajectory is as unconventional as it is inspiring. From a foundation in journalism to her rigorous training as a clinical psychologist, her work is a testament to the power of interdisciplinary thinking. The genesis of her research focus lies in personal observations—specifically, witnessing her mother’s journey coping with chronic pain caused by a connective tissue disorder unveiled significant limitations in clinical assessment tools. Traditional research often occurs in controlled laboratory settings, failing to capture the intricate ebb and flow of symptoms and emotions experienced in real-world contexts, a discrepancy Dr. Kaplan set out to address.
Her engagement with silent meditation retreats further galvanized her inquiry, prompting a critical question: do the transformative experiences gained in controlled spiritual environments manifest authentically in the fabric of daily living? This curiosity propelled her to pursue doctoral studies under the mentorship of Dr. Matthias Mehl at the University of Arizona, a luminary in ambulatory assessment—an approach that embraces participants’ lived realities through real-time data collection.
At Emory University, Dr. Kaplan identified a crucial methodological bottleneck. Conventional instruments for gathering experiential data leaned heavily on rigid surveys or passive audio captures, missing the spontaneity and depth of personal narratives. To surmount these limitations, she collaborated with Santiago Arconada Alvarez, Co-Director of Mobile Apps at Emory’s AppHatchery, to develop Fabla—a secure, smartphone-based application designed to collect unstructured voice narratives from participants throughout their daily routines.
Fabla’s significance resides in its capability to harvest what Dr. Kaplan describes as “voice memos for research.” Unlike scripted surveys or clinical interviews, these voice memos capture candid, unsupervised reflections that reveal how subjects internalize and process therapeutic interventions in the moment. This innovative method has transformed the scope of qualitative data, creating a rich tapestry of subjective experience that conventional technologies have failed to access.
Though initially created with psychedelic-assisted therapy research in mind, Fabla’s adaptability has led to its adoption across a variety of health disciplines. More than a dozen research initiatives now leverage the platform to explore veteran rehabilitation during substance use treatment, patient narratives in epilepsy management, and even the psychological toll of burnout among healthcare providers. This broad uptake underscores a widespread demand within clinical research for tools that preserve the complexity and authenticity of human experience.
Dr. Kaplan’s work is uniquely timely, coinciding with rapid advances in artificial intelligence, particularly generative large language models capable of analyzing speech data on an unprecedented scale. These technologies offer enormous promise for accelerating research but simultaneously introduce a host of ethical challenges. How can researchers harness AI’s computational power without diluting the relational and contextual subtleties that imbue voice data with meaning?
The ethical dimension of voice analysis forms a critical pillar of Dr. Kaplan’s current research agenda. Automated systems can now detect emotional states, cognitive patterns, and even inferred psychological conditions directly from voice recordings. However, this transformative potential is tempered by concerns regarding privacy, consent, and the risk of eroding the nuanced intersubjective qualities of human communication—those shared meanings created through relational engagement, which are particularly vital in understanding psychedelic experiences.
Psychedelic therapy exemplifies these challenges. Patients often describe ineffable shifts in perception, identity, and consciousness—phenomena difficult to codify or quantify. Dr. Kaplan questions whether algorithmic interpretation might oversimplify or misrepresent these profound transformations. Her lab emphasizes maintaining reflexivity in research methods, acknowledging the limitations of technology and advocating for an ethical framework that respects the depth of subjective experience.
This reflective stance extends into Dr. Kaplan’s scientific philosophy. She recalls guidance from her clinical training director: “When in doubt, be a human.” This ethos sharply contrasts the increasing pressure in research environments to prioritize speed and productivity at the potential cost of care and depth. Her laboratory culture fosters mindfulness and prioritizes the human element, encouraging students and researchers to resist reductive trends and honor the complexity of lived experience.
Balancing technology with contemplative practice also informs Dr. Kaplan’s personal and professional life. She maintains an adapted Shabbat ritual with her partner, a weekly 24-hour period without technology that mirrors her investigation into how moments of stillness and presence can solidify insights from therapeutic interventions into sustainable life changes. Her research seeks to unravel what enables lasting integration of transformative experiences beyond isolated sessions.
Looking forward, Dr. Kaplan envisions a future where behavioral science and artificial intelligence converge, reshaping both academic research and applied mental health care. With the proliferation of voice-enabled AI assistants and mental health applications, there is an urgent need to develop standards for ethically capturing and analyzing voice data that preserve dignity and authenticity. Her work asks poignant questions: Can voice biomarkers complement traditional clinical assessments? What safeguards must be embedded to ensure that the efficiency of automation does not eclipse the therapeutic power embedded in being genuinely heard?
The Genomic Press interview with Dr. Deanna M. Kaplan is part of the “Innovators & Ideas” series, spotlighting transformative figures at the forefront of scientific progress. By weaving professional achievements with deeply human stories, the series offers readers not only insight into cutting-edge discoveries but also into the motivations and philosophies driving today’s research revolutionaries. Dr. Kaplan’s story and her visionary work epitomize the potential for technology to both illuminate and preserve the intricacies of human experience in clinical science.
Subject of Research: People
Article Title: Deanna M. Kaplan: Listening to daily life: exploring speech data, shared meaning, and generative artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical science
News Publication Date: 3 June 2025
Web References:
DOI: 10.61373/pp025k.0023
Image Credits: Dr. Deanna M. Kaplan
Keywords: voice technology, clinical psychology, psychedelics, qualitative data, Fabla app, ambulatory assessment, artificial intelligence, ethical voice analysis, generative AI, human experience, behavioral science, mental health technology
