Just in time for Halloween, a new book has hit the shelves all about our fears. Harvard Business School academic, Christina Wing, has written Unspeakable: The Taboo Topics We Avoid and How to Talk About Them. The book argues that fear is holding many business people back. It is the same emotional issue that is worrying you when you open the door this evening to be faced by ghostly trick or treaters. We get spooked by the unexpected or the unpredictable.
You may be one of those people who says they do not scare easily. You know the kind. They say they can wrestle a shark without worry, or run through a burning building to rescue a cat. But as Harvard psychologist Susan David says, we should not confuse courage with a lack of fear. Besides, ask that person who wrestled the shark to stand on stage in front of 2,000 people and explain what happened, and their legs could turn to jelly. The fear of public speaking is one of the most common worries people have. In fact, we are all scared of something.
However, research published earlier this year from Japan, shows that there is a difference between what we get frightened about and what horrifies us. Previous research found that when people read about harm that feels ordinary or might happen in the future, they feel fear. But when the harm is extreme and weirdly out of the ordinary, they feel horror. This Japanese study showed that when people read something that was distressing and described in very vivid, graphic detail, it made the event feel much more abnormal. That feeling of abnormality is what triggers horror rather than regular fear.
AI fear can become horror
When it comes to artificial intelligence, we are dealing with fear and horror at the same time. Reading about the possibility that AI may come after your job is something that creates fear. But it is hardly horrifying. We appreciate there are all kinds of reasons why we might lose a job. The company may lose money, the market may become more competitive or we might make a mistake. Either way, the fear of the loss of a job is a normal everyday fear.
However, the fact that AI insiders say that artificial intelligence could lead to human extinction within the next four years is altogether different. That feels so out of the ordinary to us, we are likely to be horrified. That horror is strengthened by the recent change to the “IMD AI Safety Clock” which is now set at a quarter to midnight. This is in the “critical” phase where we can no longer control artificial intelligence. The problem is emphasised by the “Doomsday Clock” which was set to 85 seconds to midnight earlier this year. The closeness to doomsday was partly blamed on AI. The stories we read about the problems of AI contain precisely the kind of vivid, graphic language the Japanese researchers found turns ordinary fear into horror.
The issue with something horrific like this is that we can’t do anything about it. With an ordinary fear, we can learn to live with it, even control it or remove it altogether. For example, if you have a fear of spiders, there are plenty of testimonials from people saying they have been “cured” of that phobia with the “Friendly Spider Programme” from London Zoo. Equally, if you have been frightened of failure, you will recognise that this eases as you experience failing and realising it was never as bad as you anticipated. We know we can overcome fear because we realise that we can gain control. The apparent lack of control is the very thing that causes us to be frightened in the first place. Once we realise we are in control, our fear disappears.
For a horrific situation, like AI exterminating us all, we can’t gain control and remove the fear. So, to deal with this we need to do what happens when we watch a horror movie. And if you don’t like those movies, just observe what happens later when the trick or treaters arrive at your door. The children will clutch each other, squeal, and giggle together, and nobody faces the spooky house alone. It is an emotionally shared experience that is supportive.
We need emotional support to benefit from AI
When we become horrified, we immediately turn to people around us for support. In a study over a decade ago, researchers observed what people do when watching clips of the horror movie, The Shining. The participants who experienced fear together naturally turned to one another to talk, share the distress, and share reactions. This interpersonal coping mechanism was so strong that it actually translated into deeper emotional attachments later on.
Essentially, when we are horrified by something, we seek emotional support from others. So, at the workplace we can benefit from this. Artificial Intelligence is a treat for your business. It can save time, boost productivity and help you grow your business. But that is only going to happen if your staff (or you) are not held back by your horror of AI’s potential.
The way to deal with this is to share the fears and concerns people have about AI. Rather than just having a meeting that provides tips on using AI, or classes that help people write better prompts, you also need sessions that share the negative concerns people have. This will create those emotional support bonds that people require.
It is important to do this because your staff could well be hiding their concerns about AI. Indeed, research has shown that far more people are fearful about AI than excited by it. Some studies show that up to 75% of people in some groups are worried about AI. Even in young people, there are more people concerned about AI than excited about it. Part of the reason for these high levels of fear could be that we are not sharing our worries and experiences and therefore not gaining the emotional support we need from one another.
It’s time for a coffee and chat about AI
One thing you could do next week is to set up a face-to-face coffee and chat group. The idea would be that everyone gets together for half an hour simply to chat to each other about their concerns with AI. You might worry that getting people together to discuss their fears will simply make everyone more anxious. Psychologists have a name for that: co-rumination, where going over a problem again and again with others deepens the distress rather than easing it. The difference lies in how the conversation ends. A session that finishes with people sorting their worries into the ones they can act on and the ones they can only share turns talk into support, rather than a spiral.
Another possibility would be to have a physical pin board in the office where people just post anonymous notes about their worries. Others can then post a response to show support. Divide the board into two areas. One for “Fears: things we can do something about,” such as job security and skills, and another for “Horrors: things we can only share”.
And if you work alone, get out and meet a friend for coffee and share your worries. None of this will mean you can control AI. But it will mean you have emotional support for the horrific things you believe it might bring. It will also mean that for those areas of AI for which you have been fearful you could gain a sense of control.
Christina Wing’s argument is that the conversations we avoid are often the ones we most need to have. For many businesses, the dark side of AI is now one of those conversations. So next week, put half an hour in the diary, put the kettle on, and let people say what scares them. You will not be able to control where AI ends up. But you will help your team control what they can, support each other with what they can’t, and get on with enjoying the treat that AI actually provides.
