AI has been moving into the centre of my radar recently after listening to Esther Perel’s podcast , watching Diane Morgan’s Ann Droid and, well, the fact that it’s everywhere. This post considers some of the psychological impact of AI and how to look after ourselves (and each other) through it all.
AI has the potential to change our world in a way which is widescale and difficult to comprehend. It looks set to affect nearly every area of our lives;
-changing or even replacing our jobs
-altering our relationships, as we and those we love interact with, or even form relationships with, AI.
– changing politics and the dissemination of information (calling into question if we can trust our senses and believe what we see, read and hear).
The increased use of AI also has detrimental environmental impacts in a time when climate change is escalating. None of these issues represent superficial concerns; they are areas which are intrinsically linked to our survival. They are also intrinsically linked to our sense of self and what it means to be human. The introduction of AI forces us to confront existential questions around our purpose and nature that get to the heart of our identity and soul.
…Ready for it?
‘The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology. And it is terrifically dangerous’ Edward Wilson.
As a collective, I don’t think we’re ready, or that we have the capacity to grapple with this at the level of engagement it requires. I don’t think that this is a personal failing; the scale and potential impact are almost impossible to comprehend. Plus, by intention or design, we have been playing life on hard mode for quite some time, with a pandemic, fascists in power and escalating global warming.
On AI and Trauma
When I consider that these changes have a staggering potential to negatively* impact our survival and are happening at an overwhelming speed and without our consent, I realise that we are in the realm of trauma.
So, the robots are here and we’re not ready. What now?
I don’t have all the answers on how this will play out, but I do know something about navigating and recovering from trauma and stress. In an ideal world, this work would happen when the threat has passed or been contained in some way. But given where we are and the impossibility of this, here are some thoughts on how to look after ourselves and each other through whatever comes next.
Come back to what is happening right now
Although it’s very understandable, we can quickly spiral about the negative potential of AI and where things might lead. Checking in with ourselves can help us spot when reflection has crossed the line into catastrophising and we’re becoming flooded by fight, flight and freeze responses. In these moments it can be helpful to return to this present moment and the present environment by using our senses (check out my new grounding strategies zine for more on this). Asking yourself ‘what is happening right now that I need to deal with in this moment?’ is another good way to come back to the present.
Don’t negate the possibilities for positives
Often when we’re spiralling about something we lose the capacity for nuance. We might notice we’re in this state when we discount the possibility that humanity could positively respond to some of these challenges. Along with its negative potential, AI could also be used as a tool that makes things easier, potentially freeing up our time to enjoy more of the good things in life (see Aaron Bastani’s Fully-Automated Luxury Communism for more thoughts on this or check out Jeanette Winterson’s Mind Over Matter for her thoughts as a cautious AI optimist.
Process this with other humans
As a therapist, it’s probably no surprise that I’m a fan of feeling your feelings and processing them with other people, and that I also think this approach could be really helpful here. Having said that, watch out for co-dysregulation and click bait around this issue. Fear is a very contagious emotion and there is a lot of fear around AI. Stay tuned into how your conversations and consumption of media are affecting you and notice if you’re starting to feel panicked or checked out. The struggle to maintain the delicate balance of staying informed and staying in your window of tolerance is real, and if this is something which is difficult for you, therapy can also help.
Restore a sense for agency
There’s lots about the rise of AI that we can’t control, but don’t let that fact make you miss the things we can. This might mean supporting independent artists or becoming an activist for the environment. It might mean working on communication and your relationships. You can also consider how you personally want to engage with AI. For me, this means being committed to keeping AI away from my private practice and writing as much as is (humanly) possible. Outside of work I’ve found myself increasingly drawn to more analogue ‘old lady hobbies in the real world’, creating things, reading a paper book, writing a letter, doing a puzzle. I’ve not gone full luddite though, I am an online therapist and I’ve still got Netflix…
Some of my favourite pieces of writing on AI
https://therumpus.net/2025/10/02/human-error-is-the-point-on-teaching-college-during-the-rise-of-ai
https://www.jessikneeland.com/post/collective-grief-about-the-loss-of-life-as-we-know-it
https://stevekamb.substack.com/p/ai-algorithms-and-3-fiction-authors
*I’ll return to this later
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