A paper published in the medical journal Cureus has proposed a new framework to describe distress linked to fears of being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).
The study introduces the term Artificial Intelligence Replacement Dysfunction (AIRD), which authors Stephanie McNamara and Joseph Thornton of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida College of Medicine describe as a conceptual model for anxiety and identity-related stress tied to AI-driven job displacement.
However, AIRD is not a formal psychiatric diagnosis and is not included in existing diagnostic manuals.
The authors present it as a clinical lens to help mental health professionals recognize technology-related workplace distress that may not fully align with traditional anxiety or depressive disorders.
According to the paper, AI-related concerns may differ from conventional job insecurity because they are often seen as structural and long-term rather than cyclical.
Workers may feel that they are competing with systems that operate continuously and improve rapidly, which can make them question their own relevance and value in their profession.
The study notes that AIRD may involve persistent anxiety about becoming outdated, losing a sense of identity due to one’s job, and even fearing that one’s career may not be stable in the future.
In some cases, people may feel this stress even before they lose their job, simply because they expect AI could replace them.
McNamara and Thornton call on mental health professionals to pay closer attention to the psychological effects of rapid technological change.
They suggest developing clearer screening approaches and therapeutic strategies that account for AI’s expanding role in the workplace.
Additional research, they note, is needed to determine whether AI-related distress constitutes a distinct clinical pattern or overlaps significantly with existing anxiety frameworks.
