Dartmouth is launching a new initiative called Evergreen, a pioneering chatbot powered by artificial intelligence designed to help students thrive by offering personalized guidance and support in real-time.
The announcement made on October 10 coincides with World Mental Health Day and reinforces Dartmouth’s dedication to student health and wellness.
This interactive platform is being created by a group of 130 Dartmouth students collaborating closely with the university’s top researchers in digital health interventions, who are affiliated with the Geisel School of Medicine’s Center for Technology and Behavioral Health and the Department of Computer Science.
The student team is anticipated to invest over 100,000 hours in developing Evergreen’s language and design, which includes training it to communicate like a Dartmouth student and to understand undergraduate life on campus.
The initial Evergreen chatbot, featuring individualized interventions tailored to specific moments, is expected to be completed by December. It will undergo optimization over the next two years through voluntary, randomized controlled trials that are expected to commence on campus early next year. The fully generative, more personalized chatbot is set to be tested by the end of 2026.
Evergreen will not substitute existing campus resources related to mental health and well-being; rather, it will serve as an additional, widely accessible tool.
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“What drives me to contribute to the Evergreen project is the opportunity to develop something that truly enhances student well-being and mirrors our collective experiences,” states Azaire Andre ’27, a member of the student team involved in Evergreen.
”I firmly believe that this initiative can provide guidance and assistance to individuals who are not only facing challenges in maintaining their mental health but also to those who appear to be coping well,” states Keion Grieve ’28, a member of the development team. “Evergreen will pave the way for a better and more manageable college experience.”
”Striving for prevention”
In collaboration with the center’s founding director, Lisa Marsch, the Andrew G. Wallace Professor of psychiatry and biomedical data science, and Andrew Campbell, the Albert Bradley 1915 Third Century Professor in computer science, Jacobson is co-leading the development of Evergreen through CTBH.
”Our goal with Evergreen is prevention,” Jacobson explains. “By collecting extensive, passive-sensor data from students’ devices, we can offer personalized, timely support before challenges escalate into clinical issues. It’s about cultivating resilience and promoting well-being, rather than merely addressing illness.”
