Do Psychologists Hate AI?

Many studies report potential psychological costs from emerging technologies, including AI. Concerns such as blandification, cognitive offloading, AI sycophancy, reduced neurological activity, and colonizing how people think are repeatedly raised. Psychology has historically emphasized pathology and problems through subfields like abnormal psychology and psychopathology, which can bias attention toward harms. Positive psychology emerged much later, suggesting a long-standing imbalance toward problem-focused research. Critical perspectives argue that psychology can transform neutral issues into problematized objects. Even so, some AI-related concerns are grounded in evidence, and careful management of AI use may be key to limiting harm.

"Many studies flag potential psychological costs of emerging technologies. Every few weeks, we are met with a new publication that warns against the effects of AI on psychological functioning, from " blandification", " cognitive offloading", and " AI sycophancy", to decreasing neurological activity and " colonizing" how we think."

"Psychology has long been wed to subfields such as "abnormal psychology" and psychopathology that focus on pathology and problems. In his book on the history of psychoanalysis, George Makari notes that the field was initially developed through the study of animals, children, and psychopathology. Granted, figures such as Wundt were less focused on this, and the work of William James was even more positively inclined - asking more how psychology could help humans flourish - the field of 'positive psychology' did not emerge until the 1990s."

"Critical psychologist Teo cites Foucault: "There are many examples demonstrating that psychology in fact did not solve problems but produced problematizing in which neutral issues were turned into highly problematized objects." While Foucault was speaking to issues such as race rather than technology, the point is relevant. Psychologists can counter, saying their cautions about AI are rooted in evidence-based fi"

Read at Psychology Today