How to Handle AI-Related Anxiety

Three practical mindset shifts.

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This week I’ve been thinking a lot about how to handle anxiety about AI and our futures. Not only our careers, but the potential negative impact of AI on many aspects of society.

I recently posted that addresses my thoughts about whether and how AI will impact tech careers, and at work I’ve been preparing a presentation on using AI more effectively in data science workflows. While preparing the demos, I realized this could be a really scary presentation without context — I’m essentially showing how AI can already handle much of our coding work, and even some analysis tasks. I’m demonstrating how AI could potentially do their jobs.

In the video (and blog), I explain why I don’t think AI is coming for our jobs anytime soon. But that doesn’t eliminate legitimate anxiety about our futures — not just our careers but society at large, and ultimately even our lives.

I don’t claim to know what the future holds. But here are some approaches that help me manage this anxiety:

1. Be mindful of the content you consume

Even if you think you’re not affected by pessimistic perspectives, consuming content that focuses on negative outcomes isn’t helpful. What you consume directly…