I love AI. It has profoundly enhanced the quality of my life. I get to explore immediately whatever I am interested in, whether its cosmic ideas or embarrassing feelings. I get to do more work with more accuracy. I create more jokes and more posts and go deeper than I could on my own.
Denying the obvious importance of AI can give people a few short-term psychological and social payoffs:
Preservation of Control: Admitting AI’s growing power can make people feel irrelevant or out of control. Denial helps preserve a sense of superiority or agency.
Status Quo Bias: If you’re invested in traditional systems (academia, law, medicine, etc.), downplaying AI protects your position and justifies avoiding adaptation.
Moral Superiority (this is most AI deniers I know): Some see AI as unethical, soulless, or dangerous. Denial becomes a way to stake out moral high ground—”we’re the humans, we matter more.”
Avoiding Uncertainty: AI’s rise brings massive unknowns. Denying it makes life simpler and less mentally taxing. No need to re-skill, rethink systems, or question institutions.
Group Identity: In some circles, skepticism or cynicism toward AI is a social signal—like loyalty to a tribe. Denial keeps you in good standing with peers who share that view.
But long-term? That payoff turns into irrelevance, missed opportunity, and being blindsided by change you could’ve shaped.
Denying AI’s importance often stems from fear, self-interest, or cognitive bias. Some people gain a sense of control by dismissing transformative tech—admitting its impact can feel like surrendering to an uncertain future. Others, like those in industries AI might disrupt, protect their status quo by downplaying it. There’s also a psychological payoff: skepticism signals intellectual rigor or contrarianism, which can feel rewarding in a world of hype. Plus, some just cling to outdated mental models, unable to process AI’s exponential growth.
People dig in hard because AI challenges deeply held beliefs about work, creativity, and even what it means to be human. It can feel like a personal attack when someone’s worldview is tied to rejecting or embracing it.
