AI & Mental Health: Is fear of becoming obsolete affecting you at work?
Everybody’s rightly talking about the dangers of using ChatGPT as a therapist. But there’s a whole area of AI and mental health concern that’s often going unmentioned: how AI at work can affect your mental wellbeing. As a professional in the 2020s, constantly being expected to pivot, upskill and disrupt takes its toll.
So what are some common questions when it comes to AI and mental health at work, and what can you do to promote your resilience? Read on.
Is ‘AI anxiety’ a real thing?
Yes, ‘AI anxiety’ is a real and common phenomenon. The term AI anxiety refers to the fear, dread, or overwhelm many people feel about the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence now and in the future.
We are living through a fourth industrial revolution, marked by technological development proceeding at a pace never seen before. Some say it’s exciting, but for many it’s exhausting – particularly in the workplace.
Suddenly you have a new colleague – AI. You’re told it’s here to help, but you fear it’s come for your job.
So if you’re asking yourself have I got AI anxiety, you’re not alone. In a recent survey of UK adults, 51% were worried about AI’s potential impact on their job.
When people use the term ‘AI anxiety’ they could be referring to anything from a vague sense of dread about the future, to invasive physical anxiety symptoms. But common signs of AI anxiety include:
- Compulsively checking on AI news
- Difficulty concentrating, especially at work
- Poor sleep
- Feeling increasingly hopeless about the future
- A constant background sense of unease
What is ‘FOBO’ and how is it affecting me at work?
Fear Of Becoming Obsolete (FOBO) refers to the growing fear among many – particularly office workers – that AI will render their skills worthless.
Recently researchers studying AI anxiety in the workplace concluded that:
- Anxiety about job replacement depletes employee motivation to invest time and energy into their jobs (or their ‘work passion’)
- Fear about learning also lowers work passion
- At a time of technological upheaval, workers may experience emotional exhaustion
In addition to emotional fatigue, there is emerging evidence that AI as it is commonly used can lead to mental stagnation or ‘AI brain fry’ (see below).
Is ‘AI brain fry’ real?
Yes, new data suggests that AI – as many people currently use it – could be bad for your thinking skills, causing what is informally known as ‘AI brain fry’. Overreliance on passive answer-seeking from chatbots could be weakening our ability to reason, persist when a task demands thought, and ‘think outside the bots’.
For instance, researchers from MIT and Oxford University recently ran a series of randomised controlled trials on human AI use for tasks, including reading comprehension and mathematics. Strikingly, they found that after just 10 minutes of AI use, participants performed ‘significantly worse’ when the AI was taken away, and were also more likely to quit the task. AI use seemed to have diminished both their ability to think and willingness to try.
So precisely at a time when professionals are being told to use AI to enhance productivity, they have to worry about whether the tech is harming their critical thinking, persistence and creativity. And these are the very qualities that give them an edge at work.
So when it comes to AI and mental health, it’s important to consider ‘AI brain fry’ and how to guard against it.
AI and mental health at work: The hidden cost of constant disruption
Dr Ben Janaway, Consultant Psychiatrist at The London Psychiatry Centre says: ‘In today’s industries – particularly in tech – it’s common to talk about “disruption” as being this benevolent, exciting force that makes everything better. But when we look at disruption psychologically, bear in mind we’re talking about something that can disturb our sense of equilibrium and security.’
Following a recent report into burnout among UK workers, Chief Executive of Mental Health UK Brian Dow addressed the connection between AI and mental health pressures in the workplace, particularly for young people, who face what he called‘an uncertain job market where AI is increasingly seen as a threat to some entry-level roles.’
So, how can we ground ourselves when it seems like the floor beneath us is shifting? How can we protect our mental health in the AI boom?
AI and mental health at work: 6 ways to look after yourself
Workers are constantly exposed to instructions on how to integrate AI at work. But what about AI and mental health? How do you build a sense of resilience? Here are 6 tactics to start with.
1. Acknowledge how you’re feeling
At a time of rapid technological advancement, it’s normal to feel like AI and your mental health are in conflict. Constantly suppressing and smiling through that fear doesn’t make it go away. It’s okay to take a breath and acknowledge ‘I’m scared, I feel overwhelmed.’
In addition, therapeutic techniques such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) are excellent tools to use when we feel out of control. As a NICE-recommended, gold standard intervention for anxiety, CBT is specifically designed to empower you to redirect feelings, beliefs and emotions to better serve you.
2. Beware an ‘AI doom loop’ in your algorithm
If you’re worried about AI, you might get stuck in an AI doom loop. Your newsfeed algorithms respond to your engagement, so when you click on AI doom content, the newsfeed will show you more – and it becomes a vicious cycle. Try to break the loop by finding something positive and completely unrelated to click on that feels good to you, consciously retraining your newsfeed.
3. Go offline more
Limit AI to work when you can. Too much time online in out-of-work hours can mean we never get a chance to switch off. Our brains did not evolve meeting a constantly refreshing feed of digital information. Indeed, research suggests that reducing social media time to half an hour per day is linked to significant reductions in levels of loneliness and depression. We already know that forming strong boundaries is important for psychological wellbeing, so create them.
4. Do-it-yourself whenever you can
There’s a certain ‘use it to keep it’ principle when it comes to sharp cognition. And there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that if we offload too much of our thinking, we may become reliant and feel disempowered. So in everyday life, practice do-it-yourself wherever possible. Do that mental sum, write your own email to your kid’s tutor, have a book on the go, read that tricky article yourself instead of opting for the AI summary You might not be in charge of how much AI you use at work, but in your life outside, you can flex your cognitive muscles to keep them strong. This will help build your confidence in the things that distinguish you from the machines – the creativity and unique insight that comes from being a human who has lived millions of experiences and memories.
5. Use AI responsibly
Research indicates that those who outsource creative tasks to AI produce ideas that are less creative and original. So instead of just asking AI for ideas, get a notebook and mind-map the old-fashioned way first. Not only are you giving your brain the workout it needs, but you could be producing something more original – because the brainstorm is fed by prior learning, memories and experiences belonging only to you.
And when it comes to knowledge production, instead of using AI as a kind of ‘infallible guru’, try using it more as a means to produce other reading sources, or to stress-test your own ideas and answers. This not only builds your AI literacy, it builds confidence in your own cognition – two things that are super helpful when it comes to AI and mental health at work.
6. Speak to someone
At times of rapid upheaval, it’s totally natural to feel anxious, and to need to talk through your concerns. Whether it’s to a friend, spouse, coach or therapist, reach out when you need to.
AI might be brand new, but the therapeutic techniques to deal with anxiety are already road-tested. Here at The London Psychiatry Centre, as experts in mental health and coaching through upheaval, we have decades of experience working with busy, successful professionals. We take appointments both in-person and online, and balancing mental wellbeing with a thriving work life is our beat.
If you’re experiencing AI anxiety and you want to take your power back, contact our friendly team today by calling 020 7580 4224 or email info@psychiatrycentre.co.uk
