Bridging the gap between AI mental health innovation and the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth it most needs to serve — through research, co-design, and industry partnership.
Tech companies haven't yet fully considered BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth in AI mental health design. The DoubleSlash isn't waiting for that to change. We're building algorithmic agency with these youth right now — so that by the time the industry catches up, youth are already the authors, not the afterthought. The industry is invited to join us.
of AI mental health studies reviewed reported no race or ethnicity data. We're not waiting for that to change. We're building the agency now.
// The DoubleSlash Scoping Review · 2025–2026
// 01of studies reported no LGBTQ+ identity data. Twin powers don't wait for the system to catch up. They activate.
// The DoubleSlash Scoping Review · 2025–2026
// 02// The Opportunity
AI-powered mental health tools represent one of the most promising frontiers in behavioral health — and the industry is moving fast. But the data reveals a significant gap: BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth, who face the greatest barriers to formal mental health care, are among the highest users of these tools and among the least represented in their design process.
This is not a failure of intent. It is the next frontier of equitable design — and the organizations that lead here will define what responsible AI looks like for a generation.
// Why It Matters Now
Conversational AI tools for mental health are proliferating rapidly. The youth most likely to use them — BIPOC and LGBTQ+ teens navigating real barriers to formal care — represent an underserved population whose needs, identities, and lived experiences haven't yet been fully integrated into the design process.
The DoubleSlash exists to bridge that gap — through rigorous research, youth co-design, and partnership with the industry leaders who have the power to act on it.
"The industry hasn't yet fully considered BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth in AI mental health design. We are not waiting for that to change. Twin powers activate — and the work begins now."
// The DoubleSlash · Core Narrative · 2026The industry hasn't yet fully considered BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth in AI mental health design. We're not waiting for that to change. Two forces — youth voice and algorithmic agency — are activating right now. When they come together, the power to reshape these tools belongs to the communities they were always meant to serve.
// Form of — Twin One
They carry the lived expertise the system has never asked for — doubly marginalized, doubly powerful. Their knowledge of what these tools get wrong is the most important design intelligence in the room. That power doesn't require an invitation. It activates on its own terms.
// Form of — Twin Two
The critical power to recognize, navigate, and challenge algorithmic bias — built through co-design, not handed down. Not retrofitted. Activated from within. When youth hold this power, they stop being users of systems and become authors of them. The industry can join that work. But it begins with or without them.
"We are not waiting. Twin powers activate — and the work of building agency begins now."
// Activated · 2026Algorithmic Bias by Omission: A Scoping Review of Conversational AI in Youth Mental Health
April 2026Invisible by Design: Race, Identity, and the Missing Data in Digital Mental Health
2026Co-Designing Algorithmic Agency: A YPAR Framework for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ Youth
2026Toward Equitable Conversational AI: Design Principles from Youth Co-Design
2026The DoubleSlash Framework: Scaling Algorithmic Agency in Digital Mental Health
2026DNP · Assistant Professor · Xavier University of Louisiana
A nurse researcher at the nation's only historically Black Catholic university, Davis Austria's work sits at the intersection of AI equity, youth mental health, and the social determinants of health among marginalized populations.
The DoubleSlash began as Project Code // Switch — named for the code-switching that BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth navigate every day as they move through systems not yet designed with them in mind. Along the way, even naming the work revealed the very gap the research documents: smaller, equity-focused voices need more space, more partnership, and more institutional support to be heard.
So we extracted the most enduring part — the // — and built an organization whose purpose is to create exactly that space. The DoubleSlash is an open invitation: to researchers, funders, technologists, and industry leaders who believe the next generation of AI mental health tools should be built with the communities they serve.
We’re not waiting for AI companies to change before we build your power. That work is happening right now — and you are the missing twin. Your lived experience with mental health tools, your knowledge of what’s missing, your vision of what it would feel like to be truly seen — that’s the force that activates everything.
We’re building a co-design process where you are the expert in the room — not the subject of the study. The industry will catch up. Until then, we build agency together.
Small group workshops where your lived experience shapes the design of AI mental health tools — not the other way around.
BIPOC youth. LGBTQ+ youth. Both. Anyone under 25 who has used — or been failed by — digital mental health tools.
You don’t need to know how to code. You just need to know what it feels like when a tool doesn’t see you. That’s enough.
// No commitment. Just a signal that you’re interested.
We’ll reach out when co-design begins.
We're not waiting for the industry to change before we build youth agency. That work is underway right now. But the organizations that step in as partners today will help determine how fast the industry catches up — and how many young people benefit when it does. The DoubleSlash offers a research-backed, co-design pathway for technology companies ready to lead on equitable AI mental health design.
// Research Access
Partner with a published scoping review, a documented evidence base, and a five-paper pipeline — giving your design process an academic foundation it can stand behind.
// Youth Co-Design
Access a structured co-design process with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth that generates authentic insight unavailable through traditional user research or demographic surveys.
// ESG Leadership
Demonstrate measurable commitment to health equity and responsible AI — with a research partner whose work is published, peer-reviewed, and community-anchored.
"The next generation of AI mental health tools should be built with the communities they serve — not just for them."
Start a Conversation //Whether you're a funder, technology company, researcher, mental health professional, or BIPOC or LGBTQ+ young person — there's a place for you in this work. We read everything.