Facing the AI Anxiety: Compartmentalizing Fear and Seeking Solutions | Part 3

So anyway, sorry, I could talk about this all day but it's hard for me to kind of have my brain stop when I'm going down that route. Because I wasn't like that when I walked in right? You can see the difference. I can see the difference in my behavior, like I'm all, I feel hot now, and you know, I feel stressed now. I have anxiety now, right? And it's like, well, maybe I need anxiety medication because when I get into this mode, I need to be able to forget about it and just act like it's not happening. I have to lie to myself, pretty much. I have to pretend. "Or you just have to compartmentalize, right? Which, I think is the way that a lot of folks get through their day is that you know. You've got to get to work, you've got to do this, right? and so being able to kind of, you are not pretending that is not happening, right? You are not pretending that this all doesn't exist but you have to do these things right?" Yes, but sometimes these two compartments like you are saying, I'm riding the bus and looking out the window and I think to myself, whatever I'm doing, it doesn't matter anyway because I'm thinking about these Terminator style scenarios that could happen in my lifetime and I'm like, so why am I worried about not being able to pay my rent on time, like who gives a s***, because it's all over anyways. "And this is where the reality testing comes in because that's not happening now" Right. "It's not necessarily.." I just don't know how I'm supposed to live a happy life. "I know" Anymore. "I know" "We don't have a crystal ball, what the future is going to be" Sure. "Right?" That's true. "So, just because we see a pattern, it doesn't mean that the pattern is going to come true." Right. "Right? There are some patterns that we can see that are just a pattern, that don't lead anything to significance." So I just have to be more optimistic? "I think it's more about how to manage what's going on with you now, right?" Hmmm "Because right now, you have a holicious commute." Yeah, maybe if I had a job and I was stable and I could feed myself, maybe I wouldn't feel so bad, right? "It's easier to go out here and to project all of the anxiety and negativity" Sure. "And the fear on something else." Right, maybe this what I've been doing for the last 9 months. "What you're feeling is really just scared about what's going on with you, and your day-to-day life" Really? But, even though all these articles and these things are really occurring, that's what scares the sh** out of me. "So the two things things can be true at the same time..." Of I see what you're saying, got it. "We are complex enough beings that the two things can be true. Would, if you had your six-figure job right, and you were able to feed yourself regularly, all that type of stuff right, if your life did not change almost a year ago, would you still be concerned about this stuff?" No. I would probably be just like everyone else who still has a job, who still lives a normal life, who's not been impacted by it. I'm part of the first wave..."I know, I know" My old therapist told me, "Kevin, many are to come" "Yes." It happens in stages. "Well first I hate to tell you but I think this stuff is underhyped, "underhyped?" Not overhyped. Because the arrival of a non-human form is really a big deal for the world. 'And you think it's here?" It's coming, it's here, it's about to happen, it happens in stages." And let me tell you, wait 3 to 4 years, people are going to be out in the streets protesting. I'm 100% sure of this. There's just no other way, unless people are just going to be fine dying being hungry or not having a roof on top of their head, forever, which that's also not a viable solution so what I was trying to do, was trying to do something about it now, knowing this where we're headed but people are not getting it and I feel all by myself doing this. "But you're not, right? Because there is a law that passed the legislature" Well, yeah, sure, but..."It passed the legislature, hasn't been signed" Right "Three different branches of government..." We all hope it gets signed, get unfortunately it's not government get unfortunately it's not "We all hope and so the people who pass we all hope and "So the people who passed that bill, let's say it doesn't get signed, they'll come back next year with something else, that's the way things work, it's not instant, it's not at the timeline that perhaps we need it." It's just so many more people going to suffer and..."I know" and go through whatever I had to go through and I don't want this, I don't want this country go downhill like this I moved to 15 years ago you know. I don't want that. I don't want to have or see this country go down hill like this because of inaction and the government not understanding what's going on. "Right but, the government does understand because there's a bill that's sitting on the Governor's desk right? So, reality testing, right? So the reality is that people are becoming aware, are they becoming aware at the rate that you would want them to? No. But are they becoming aware? Yes." It's taking a little bit longer. "It may take a little bit longer, right?" I'm just so impatient, I've always been like that, it's the millennial in me you know I want everything last week. "Yes" Gen-Zs want everything yesterday with no work, no hard work.[...] So let's see where this goes, I feel like I'm on this new adventure now. "I mean I think adventure is a really good word right." Yeah because hopefully this will make me forget about all the doomsday stuff that's been preoccupying my mind, even though it may be happening in the background. I don't know if you read two weeks ago Congress raised the alarm saying, oh, all these humanoids coming from China, that could be a problem of national concern safety and I'm like, yeah, I can see how this could be. If you have a Chinese robot in your home doing your cooking and your cleaning and changing your diapers, I mean, you know, they're kind of like our enemies so they could like oh, let me look what's in this drawer...see what I mean like I mean this is not too far-fetched to think this is not plausible you know I don't want this to happen but I mean these conversations are happening now. All the tech CEOs met about a month ago thinking about well, if this technology, those humanoids, do turn themselves against us or whatever like in The Terminator movies, sounds crazy I'm saying this but, what's the solution? And they thought of a "kill switch" An actual button, behind the robot that you could press to take control of the technology but I'm like, if this thing is chasing after me with a gun, I don't think I'm gonna be running after it (nervously laughing) It doesn't make any sense what's happening so I kind of want to put all these thoughts into a drawer and see what happens, the vote on Senate Bill 1047 is happening next week which is exciting, safe use of AI, which California is trying to lead. This has to pass to show an example to all the other States that you know, we could eventually have a way to do a full, put a full stop on everything if needed to for survival you know of the human species I guess, I mean, this is such like important stuff, it's not just a bill, it's like, a big deal. I'm just hoping that the government knows what they're doing because I mean that's what I've been trying to do, trying to advocate for ethical AI for nine months. Contact people from Congress and I'm nobody so like nobody cares so I'm like, you guys just wake up and my friend that I've known for a long time, she's in her mid-60s, I love that woman. She called me last night, she was like: "Kevin you know all the things you have been posting on social media, I'm just now starting to hear about it" and I'm like...well yeah because I have done my research and I have attended webimars on AI a year ago, part of my job. "I'm Kevin Bihan-Poudec, and I'm incredibly grateful for your support in my Kickstarter campaign. The mission of my campaign was to gather the necessary resources to embark on an enlightening journey: a 6-week MIT course on Artificial Intelligence fundamentals. This knowledge is crucial for me, and possibly for you, to thrive in our careers in the rapidly evolving job market.Over the last 8 years, I've honed my skills in automating Excel spreadsheets and crafting Microsoft Power BI KPI dashboards. But the landscape is shifting. AI and automation are predicted to reshape 300 million jobs in the next 3 to 5 years. This wave of change isn't just coming; it's here, transforming tasks we've mastered into automated processes. In my recent role as a Director of Business Intelligence, I witnessed firsthand the rise of automation across various industries, reshaping the way we work. This realization isn't just a challenge; it's an opportunity. An opportunity for all of us to embrace change, to become versatile, and to add new, invaluable skills to our repertoire. As part of my Kickstarter commitment, I pledged to create 'something to share'. I can think of nothing more valuable than sharing the insights and knowledge about AI and automation that I will gain from this course. I'll be sharing these learnings across my social media platforms, inviting you to join me in understanding AI. This isn't just about staying relevant. It's about becoming more efficient, more innovative, and turning ourselves into indispensable assets in our respective fields. Your support has been the cornerstone of this journey. I'm excited to venture into this new chapter together, bringing you along every step of the way. Thank you once again. Let's embrace this adventure and see where it takes us. See you soon! So all I was trying to do was kind of spread the information out there because the news on TV in the US is entertainment and she was like yeah, it's it's not looking good and I'm like, no. But I don't want to think about this. "Well, I mean, yes but all of the research that you have done on AI is going to be important and it's going to be important because you know how you've also learned how to leverage it" hmm hmm "so if anything came out of this right, it's you having you know another unique skill." I guess, it's just that sometimes you know I get stuck in these thoughts where you know I'm trying to navigate to you know when I think about it and just kind of like get out of it. "Yeah" and that's the hard part you know sometimes like in my car just like sobbing and I'm like oh, this could get really bad and I'm just like trying to find things to do that's what I was telling to group downstairs earlier, you know trying to find something to do that I enjoy doing or you know going to the gym or on a hike or you know doing the things that preoccupy my mind, every time I like get into that mental state, because to me, you know it's all about managing my thoughts so I can still live a normal life right? I was not thinking like this two years ago, I'm a completely different place I think now because of that you know, they say "You can't unknow what you know" so... it's a process I think you know. "It is and I think that sometimes we get preoccupied by thoughts that keep us from dealing with stuff that might feel even more overwhelming." Hmmm hmmmm like I mean you know people are not walking around just feeling sorry about all the African kids who are dying or you know oh, it could be World War III tomorrow if Putin decides to press that button kind of thing but when it comes to a technology that could put in danger the human species I mean, that's like a big deal. "And this is a technology that has been impacting you personally right, in your professio, so it makes sense to make it the bad guy that you think about all the time." I mean, like for example if I'm involved in this TheraVR company using technology and eventually automation and AI, it's just to show you how leveraging this technology for good, there are solutions that we could do. "Right." The displaced workers who are getting fired from fields and jobs that will no longer be relevant because AI will be answering the phone now or flip burgers at McDonald's, you can put these people to work in the renewable sector, there are lots of roofs that need to be put solar pannels on and I don't understand how, and this could help global warming and the planet like, I don't understand how the people at the top in charge of all this are not seeing this but you know it's all about control and if Donald Trump becomes president I mean, first of all, they want to eradicate the words "climate change" from everything out there like it's not a thing.This would put us back decades and they don't believe in this bill, they don't believe in the safe use of AI, reskilling programs, upskilling programs, they don't believe in any of this so then it's to wonder, oh, you're best friends with Elon Musk. Did you listen to his podcast on Twitter he had? So he hosted him for an hour, I'm listening to it live, actually it was two and a half hours, and I'm like switching through the comments on this call from "Newest comments first" to "Most relevant" just for like the heck of it and I'm like, seeing all these anti-Kamala Harris posts and pro-Trump posts so I was like okay, yeah, the propaganda has started, they're trying to change people's minds out there, literally that's what's happening. I mean Donald Trump posted an AI-generated photo of Taylor Swift trying to change people from her being not going for him to maybe getting people who are Swift fans vote for him, I mean this is absolutely insane what's happening and you call that freedom of speech? When Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion that was the basis of his thing, oh I'm buying the platform for freedom of speech. I'm like, well that was a big lie.