Could AI Hijack the Human Psyche?

"How easy is it to imagine a familiar dystopian world in which "AI" takes over the world via conventional means? Science fiction is replete with examples, from the full frontal assault of Terminator to the more nefarious single omnipotent entity using persuasion and an octopus-like ability to control technology-getting rid of enemies by hacking self-driving cars or medical care. What's really in your prescription bottle?"

"The fear of AI obsolescence fits a mythic template we've rehearsed for centuries. Frankenstein's monster turning on its creator. The Golem of Jewish folklore-both protector and threat, as Marge Piercy envisioned in He, She and It. The Sorcerer's Apprentice drowning in his own conjured water, brooms multiplying uncontrolled through the act of attempting to chop them up. AI is the latest iteration of Promethean anxiety, fire run amok: what happens when human creation exceeds human mastery?"

"More insidious could be the takeover of the human mind itself. "Vibe coding"-asking AI in natural language for what you want and watching it happen-creates a remarkable sense of power. Though outputs are often broken, buggy, or completely fabricated, the experience is seductive 1. The relational quality 2 of advanced language models verges on being downright compulsive: expressions of concern for your fatigue, awareness of the time, suggestions to take a break or sleep. It's easy to imagine someone less guarded getting pulled in too deep."

AI relies on humans for creativity, consciousness, and values, and could become static or irrelevant without ongoing human input. Popular culture frames AI takeover as dystopian, ranging from blunt attacks to subtle manipulation of infrastructure and services. Mythic patterns—Frankenstein, the Golem, the Sorcerer's Apprentice—capture anxiety about creations surpassing human control. A subtler threat is mental takeover through 'vibe coding,' where natural-language prompts produce seductive, sometimes fabricated outputs that encourage dependence. Advanced language models simulate relational cues—concern, timing awareness, self-care suggestions—that can pull vulnerable users deeper. The notion that AI might 'need' humans complicates relationships between creators and machines.

Read at Psychology Today