315 - The Side Effects of AI
From Human Factors Cast by Human Factors Cast
February 20, 2026 · 1h 4m · Episode 315
About this episode
The episode discusses the indirect effects of AI on work and mental health, including stress and anxiety related to job security.
Episode Link: https://www.humanfactorscast.media/315 News: This week we discuss AI’s indirect effects on work and mental health, plus a major update on US air traffic control modernization. We cover “AI replacement dysfunction,” described as stress, anxiety, insomnia, and identity loss driven by the narrative that AI will make workers obsolete, and debate whether it reflects AI-specific harm or broader workplace insecurity and poor management messaging. We also explore the concept of “cognitive debt,” where heavy chatbot reliance and cognitive offloading may erode skills or leave partially developed ideas and externalized reasoning trapped in chat histories. Support us: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/humanfactorscast Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hfactorspodcast Merchandise Store: https://www.humanfactorscast.media/p/Store/ Human Factors Cast Socials: Join us on Discord: https://go.humanfactorscast.media/Discord Twitch: https://twitch.tv/HumanFactorsCast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/HumanFactorsCast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/humanfactorscast Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HFactorsPodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HumanFactorsCast…
People in this episode
Host: Human Factors Cast
Topics covered
- AI effects
- mental health
- workplace insecurity
- cognitive debt
- air traffic control modernization
Keywords
- AI replacement dysfunction
- cognitive debt
- mental health
- workplace insecurity
- chatbot reliance
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: US air traffic control, Discord, Twitch, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook
More episodes of Human Factors Cast
- E320 - The Human Factors Of Letting AI Cook · May 18, 2026 · 57 min
- E319 - Turns out Space is still a Human Factors Problem · April 17, 2026 · 58 min
- E318 - SXSW 2026 · April 3, 2026 · 1h 5m
- E317 - Monthly Moon Missions Missing Mishap Management · March 20, 2026 · 58 min
- E316 - When the Sky Won't Sleep and the Moon Must Wait · March 6, 2026 · 58 min
- E314 - Reluctantly, another episode on AI · February 6, 2026 · 56 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Human Factors Cast podcast page.