SCIENTIFIC
WATCHDOG

THE MENTAL FORECAST

THE MENTAL FORECAST is an independent publication of E.U.LABORATORY that analyzes how digital systems, economic codes, and algorithmic power reshape mental health at individual and population levels. It combines critical science, epidemiology, and political analysis to anticipate emerging psychopathologies before they become normalized.

ALGORITHMIZED CARE: HOW ATTACHMENT WAS CAPTURED, DISTORTED, MEASURED, AND MONETIZED

Liviu Poenaru , Dec. 15, 2025 Algorithmic attachment names a quiet mutation of attachment itself. Classical attachment theory described how early bonds organize safety, proximity-seeking, and self-worth through relationships with living others (Bowlby, 1988). Today, those same regulatory circuits are being continuously solicited by non-human systems. Platforms do not simply distribute content; they distribute reassurance, rejection, anticipation, and absence. The feed becomes

THE MENTAL FORECAST

WHEN PERSUASION STOPS LOOKING LIKE PROPAGANDA AND STARTS LOOKING LIKE A “HELPFUL CONVERSATION”: CHATBOTS AS POLITICAL POWER

Liviu Poenaru Dec. 14, 2025 THE MENTAL FORECAST What happens to democratic life when persuasion stops looking like propaganda and starts looking like a “helpful conversation”? If a chatbot can shift political attitudes after a short dialogue, we’re not just talking about communication technology anymore — we’re talking about a new influence infrastructure that operates through trust, fluency, and cognitive overload. The immediate concern is not only whether these systems per

THE MENTAL FORECAST

SCIENTIFIC WATCHDOG

THE MENTAL FORECAST

ALGORITHMIZED CARE: HOW ATTACHMENT WAS CAPTURED, DISTORTED, MEASURED, AND MONETIZED

WHEN PERSUASION STOPS LOOKING LIKE PROPAGANDA AND STARTS LOOKING LIKE A “HELPFUL CONVERSATION”: CHATBOTS AS POLITICAL POWER

LET’S BUILD AN ECONOMICALLY AWARE WORLD

SCIENTIFIC
WATCHDOG

LET’S
BUILD
AN
ECONOMICALLY
AWARE
WORLD