Health Update: Why Is No One Talking About AI Fatigue Already? – What Experts Say

A vortex is a violent spiral, a force that looks mesmerising from the outside and feels inescapable once you’re inside it.

That’s precisely where we are headed with artificial intelligence. More than it being insidious, generative AI use is keeping man in a loop that he doesn’t know.

Some years ago, most men outside of Silicon Valley and academic departments could barely define machine learning. Those who had been studying AI since the 1950s understood its trajectory, its promise and its limits. For the rest of us, the algorithm curating playlists, suggesting films, nudging us towards trainers we didn’t need. In just 8 years since the launch of generative AI apps, we have become so used to it that right from drafting mails, to writing Instagram caption to birthday wishes and party invites, people are depending on it to do the heavy lifting. We’re hooked!

Maybe convenience is a hamartia, after all.

Research published in 2019 by Camino Kavanagh raised a question that sounded abstract at the time: if AI may one day match or exceed human cognition across a wide range of tasks, how much autonomy should it really have? The consensus was neat and reassuring. Keep a human in the loop. Let the machine operate, but ensure a person supervises, approves and even intervenes, if necessary. Sensibly paternal, you may think and comfortingly controlled, too.

But today every second caption on social media now reads like a IELTS English response paper. A photo of a coffee becomes a meditation on resilience. A gym selfie morphs into a thesis on discipline and painstakingly describing what a human brain can already comprehend without the assist. At this point, can we even tell whether the machine is learning from us or we are learning from it? How does one avoid exhaustion in this constant loop

What is AI Fatigue?

A mental haze that leaves you feeling exhaustion and overwhelm, AI Fatigue hits when you realise much of what’s being written or produced is made using AI or the larger conversation is around it. It is also caused by the constant influx of information, tools, updates, and hype related to artificial intelligence and occurs when the pace of change and the volume of AI content exceed a person’s ability to process, adapt, and stay informed, leaving them stressed, confused, or mentally drained.

Of course, for someone who relies heavily on social media to stay entertained and informed, the misuse of generative AI can put one person is constant state of confusion and at times, privy to misinformation.

Staying Grounded Without Falling Behind

You don’t need to choose between burnout and ignorance. A few practical strategies, to help you:

• Curate Your Sources: Follow AI professionals, calm newsletters, and podcasts rather than hype-filled social media.

• Schedule Your Curiosity – Set aside dedicated time each week to catch up. You don’t have to chase every new tool.

• Experiment with tools – Try ChatGPT or other AI for tasks. But create boundaries.

• Use AI as a Learning Partner – Ask AI to teach you about AI. Framing it as exploration turns anxiety into purpose.

• Talk to real people – Share experiences, frustrations, and tips with colleagues. Learning together builds confidence.

• Take Break: You don’t have to constantly engage with AI. Trust yourself to do things on your own. Let your brain get that mental exercise it needs