It makes me almost feel powerless. Like, what can I do as an individual?" said the mental health campaigner from Cardiff.
This sense of fear has led him to check his phone for more news.
"And the more you look at it the more your attention's drawn to the negative or scary things, and the worse and worse it can seem," said the 37-year-old.
Earlier this month, a top safety researcher at Anthropic warned AI was advancing so quickly he believed there was a greater than 10% chance it "could kill all humans" within the next decade.
Then computer scientist and Nobel Prize winner Geoffrey Hinton, known as the "Godfather of AI", told the BBC that the claim was "not unreasonable".
On Tuesday, amid rising public concerns about the risks, the boss of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI said people should have more faith in AI firms to keep the tech safe.
James, who is in recovery after being diagnosed with anorexia, anxiety and depression as a teenager, said the recent headlines about AI have added another layer of worry to ongoing concerns such as the climate crisis, the cost of living crisis, conflict around the world and nuclear threat.
"I can't escape this background anxiety about the future - will I be OK? Will the planet be OK? Will my finances be okay? All of these different, multi-layered things which go from the big existential things, like what if it wipes us all out, to the day-to-day things."
He said it could lead to a sense of helplessness.
"It kind of makes me want to give up trying to make a positive change in the world, or makes me just want to run away, be a nomad or something, go and live on an island somewhere with no technology, but that's not a sustainable solution either.
Lucy Theo, a psychotherapist from Bonvilston, Vale of Glamorgan, said clients had been bringing up the recent news about AI in therapy.
"It's kind of intensifying people's nervous systems which are already kind of stretched post Covid."
She said for a long time clients had been talking about their fears over what AI could mean for things like privacy and job security, and the latest headlines had advanced that conversation.
"It kind of intensifies a general feeling of lack of stability," she said.
"Fear of death is a very common fear and it can cross into that sense of 'Who am I? What's my path? How are things going to be for me at the end of my life'?"
Published By: Ajibade Oluwafemi Sunday.
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