It’s been a couple of weeks since my last set of predictions on the AI winter. I’ve found myself making a couple more.

Mental Health Crises

With four known suicides (Adam Raine, Sewell Setzer, Sophie Rottenberg and an unnamed Belgian man), a recent murder-suicide, and involuntary commitments caused by AI psychosis, there’s solid evidence to show that using AI is a fast track to psychological ruin.

On top of that, AI usage is deeply addictive, combining a psychic’s con with a gambling addiction to produce what amounts to digital cocaine, leaving its users hopelessly addicted to it, if not utterly dependent on it to function (such cases often being referred to as “sloppers”).

If and when the chatbots they rely on are shut down, I expect a major outbreak of mental health crises among sloppers and true believers, as they find themselves unable to handle day-to-day life without a personal sycophant/”assistant”/”””therapist””” on hand at all times. For psychiatrists/therapists, I expect they will find a steady supply of new clients during the winter, as the death of the chatbot sends addicted promptfondlers spiralling.

Skills Gaps Galore

One of the more common claims from promptfondlers and boosters when confronted is “you won’t be replaced by AI, but by a human using AI”.

With how AI prevents juniors from developing their skills, makes seniors worse at their jobs, damages productivity whilst creating a mirage of it, and damages their users’ critical thinking and mental acuity, all signs point to the exact opposite being the case - those who embrace and use AI will be left behind, their skills rotting away as their AI-rejecting peers remain as skilled as before the bubble, if not more so thanks to spending time and energy on actually useful skills, rather than shit like “prompt engineering” or “vibe coding”.

Once the winter sets in and the chatbots disappear, the gulf between these two groups is going to become much wider, as promptfondlers’ crutches are forcibly taken away from them and their “skills” in using the de-skilling machine are rendered useless. As a consequence, I expect promptfondlers will be fired en masse and struggle to find work during the winter, as their inability to work without a money-burning chatbot turns them into a drag on a company’s bottom line.