Mike Elgan and Emily Forlini dive into the growing list of AI-related mental health conditions (and psuedo-mental health conditions). From AI psychosis and chatbot dependency syndrome to AI FOMO, LLM gaslighting, and dead internet despair, they unpack the real psychological toll of generative AI — just three years after ChatGPT launched. The hosts also debate remote work versus in-office flexibility, and explore how AI is empowering solo entrepreneurs through vibe coding.
Links
People Are Getting Sick of AI, Literally
Block lays off 4,000 workers citing AI. But how much does AI actually have to do with it?
Deep Work, by Cal Newport
CEOs Hate Remote Work, But This Nobel Prize Winner Says It’s a Win for Women
This Man’s True Love Is a Car? | My Strange Addiction: Still Addicted?
Rise of the Digital Ghost Industrial Complex
The Rolling Stones concert in Havana, Cuba
Thomas Jefferson’s Mac And Cheese Obsession
Follow Us
Website: superintelligentpodcast.com
Email: superintelligentpodcast@gmail.com
Mike Elgan - About | Machine Society | Bluesky | Mastodon | Notes
Emily Forlini - Website | PC Mag | Bluesky | X | TikTok
Disclosures
We used Claude 4.6 Opus via Kagi (Mike’s son and our producer, Kevin, works at Kagi) to 1) generate keywords from the transcript (most of which we used); 2) suggest topics to link to (some of which we used); and 3) write a first draft of the show summary paragraph (which we heavily edited). We recorded and edited the episode using Riverside and used Riverside’s “Magic Audio” (which boosts and normalizes the audio).
Keywords
AI psychosis, chatbot psychosis, AI FOMO, AI anxiety, AI dependency syndrome, AI mental health, generative AI psychological effects, chatbot addiction, AI replacement dysfunction, job loss AI, vibe coding, OpenClaw, dead internet theory, dead internet despair, LLM gaslighting, AI dysphoria, parasocial bot attachment, AI relationships, death bots, AI grief technology, algorithmic loneliness, AI hallucinations, digital brain rot, cognitive atrophy, remote work vs office, hybrid work flexibility, deep work, Cal Newport, AI startup entrepreneur, Thomas Jefferson, mac and cheese, Yankee Doodle, automated ghosting syndrome, AI job replacement, Superintelligent podcast, Mike Elgan, Emily Forlini, AI slop, bot-generated content, information utility burnout, digital darkness anxiety, AI impact on society, AI and mental health 2025, tech journalism, podcast
