Artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative artificial intelligence, is taking society by storm. Studies around the world show that the use of AI is expanding rapidly and widely. With new tools and platforms emerging almost every minute, people are scrambling to keep up. Businesses are on high alert to rapidly deploy AI to maintain productivity and competitiveness. Schools don’t know what to teach students who can outsource their thinking and writing to AI systems. Workers are worried about job security. In fact, some of the most dominant public conversations today revolve around AI, how it is changing the world, and whether it will ultimately change humanity for the better or weaken it.
I am not immune to this wave of AI either. My own use of AI has increased dramatically over the past year, and these tools have quietly become part of my daily routine. I find myself constantly looking for new applications that promise to increase efficiency and productivity. But along with these benefits, I noticed something else creeping in: anxiety, pressure, and even burnout. The faster the tools evolve, the more we feel the need to keep up. I suspect many people are experiencing similar undercurrents of emotion.
We are rightly awed when AI completes tasks in seconds that once took days or even months. But that surprise is often mixed with something less pleasant: a sense of interchangeability. Concerns about job losses due to AI are real. In a world where machines increasingly perform cognitive tasks once considered uniquely human, many are asking themselves what unique value they can offer. The pressure is even higher when we see other companies effectively leveraging AI to dramatically improve productivity. The question becomes not just how to use these tools, but how to keep up.
So how can we stay sane amidst the ever-changing flood of technological advancements? There are no easy answers. The scale and speed of change is daunting, even for those who study technology professionally. But one reasonable step might be to slowly reflect and consider our psychological reactions to these developments. When everyone believes they must constantly keep up with new advances in AI, the result is perpetual anxiety, endless learning pressure, and ultimately professional burnout.
History provides some perspective. During the industrial and digital revolutions, society experienced similar waves of disruption and uncertainty. Over time, technology stabilized and became integrated into everyday life, often after significant economic and political turmoil. When systems change rapidly, people cope best by focusing on what they can realistically control. It is not productive to reject AI completely or yearn for a return to the “good old days.” These technologies are already embedded in almost every area of society, and understanding and learning how to use them will continue to be important.
However, getting caught up in technology competition is also not healthy. You don’t need to master every new development in computing and AI to function effectively in modern life. In fact, cultivating a small number of adaptable skills, such as critical thinking, judgment, creativity, and the ability to continuously learn, may prove to be far more valuable than chasing every new tool that comes along.
In the Korean context, it may be especially important to slow down and resist constant comparison. Korean society has long been organized around visible and measurable criteria, such as test scores, university rankings, salaries, and even the size of an apartment. In an environment where identity is closely tied to measurable outcomes, technological disruption can threaten not only economic stability but also individual self-esteem. When people feel they have to adapt instantly to every technological change, the result is collective acceleration anxiety. We are already seeing signs of this phenomenon. In South Korea, AI Hagwon, private tutoring schools that teach AI skills, are starting to appear, and students hoping to stay competitive are flocking to them.
But the real challenges of the AI era may not be purely technical. It is both social and philosophical. As machines become more capable of tasks involving language, analysis, and problem-solving, society will need to rethink how it values human contributions and dignity. If human value continues to be measured only in speed, efficiency, and productivity, AI will inevitably leave many feeling inadequate. But when we broaden our understanding of values to include creativity, ethical judgment, social responsibility, and meaningful relationships, the picture looks different.
Ultimately, adapting to AI will require both individual reflection and collective conversation. Individuals must learn how to use these tools without becoming psychologically overwhelmed by them. At the same time, society needs to debate how to manage technological change in a way that protects human well-being, rather than simply accelerating competition. AI may change many aspects of work and knowledge, but it should not be allowed to define the entirety of human value.
Min Seong-jae (smin@pace.edu) is a professor of communication and media studies at Pace University in New York.
