How the Analog World Became a Remedy for AI-Induced Anxiety

Your local Starbucks will soon be filled with middle-aged office workers – said Noble Mobile’s CEO Andrew Yang recently, warning the world that the penetration of artificial intelligence will impact the labor market faster and harder than previously thought.

In fact, Yang believes that within the next year to year and a half, millions of white-collar workers will be laid off due to AI, and anyone engaged in a sedentary job is at risk. Last month, the U.S. recorded the highest number of layoffs since 2009, with seven percent of the total layoffs directly caused by artificial intelligence. Yang and his like-minded colleagues believe this is significant and that the number will be even higher as AI is indirectly responsible for many job losses.

The risk of job loss is not the only reason people are becoming anxious. After the initial euphoria surrounding generative AI tools that can write, paint, compose, and respond to emails on their own; which save time and, with smart prompts and one click, turn users into sages (on LinkedIn), a hangover has arrived, and now many find AI somewhat burdensome.

With it, a lot can be done, but, for some reason, work has not become particularly easier, inbox has not shrunk, and the pace has not slowed down. Moreover, if the tool can do it faster, you must be faster too. If you do not use it, you risk falling behind.

Longing for the Past

This type of everyday anxiety due to (non)use and the general existence of AI is accompanied by some apocalyptic ideas that the development of this technology will suck all energy, i.e., have a terrible impact on the environment, but also that every question we direct to some Gemini, Chat GPT, or Grok enriches the wicked billionaires even more while impoverishing ordinary people; it strengthens social inequality and leads the world into a dystopia so terrible that even the most pessimistic sci-fi authors would not think of such a thing.

So now, what is the solution to the pervasive AI anxiety and depression? Disconnection. However, since this is easier said than done, brands and user (consumer) communities offer products, services, and tools that help in staying offline. In the time of hyper-digitalization, offline becomes a luxury, and analog a new status symbol. Reddit is flooded with posts about ‘useless luxuries from the past’, with thousands discussing what was once valuable and is now almost forgotten.

With nostalgia, they recall iPods, ringtones for $8.50, or $700 GPS devices, things that were once everyday items and are now rare symbols of authenticity. Users, therefore, long for a return to that stage, that feeling, so it is not surprising that, as reported by Business Insider, one of the initiatives of the analog movement is appstinence, a term coined by Gabriela Nguyen from Harvard, interpreted as a conscious reduction in the use of apps and social media, but also a return to simple phones.

Conscious Choice

This type of appstinence is not implemented to completely withdraw from the digital world, but rather to, at least to some extent, regain control over time and consciously manage one’s attention. Business Insider cites the example of IT entrepreneur Matt Thurmond, responsible for an AI platform, who switched from Android to the Light Phone, a minimalist device that allows only calls and messages. With this phone, Thurmond can no longer check emails, chat in real-time, and instead of recording his tasks on his phone or computer, he has started using a whiteboard and marker.

These small, seemingly insignificant changes in routine have opened up space for real interactions and created significantly less mental noise. In one podcast, author and comedian Aziz Ansari described how he avoids ChatGPT, uses a flip phone, and does not use email, which gives him ‘more space to think’. Admittedly, Ansari has an assistant, so he can afford to stay offline longer, but for mortals, even minimal time spent offline would have many advantages.

The Hard Way

But just like with the introduction of any healthy habit, going offline requires support, and one must also be able to allow oneself (which is why it is a luxury) to stay in a world where notifications are not heard. This is aided not only by communities but also by brands that see a commercial opportunity in this niche. For example, the gadget Brick is gaining popularity, which blocks selected apps and websites with one touch, and dumb phones like the aforementioned Light are recording double-digit revenue growth.

Apps like 222 or Timeleft connect people at dinners and live events, with a paid subscription (paradoxically, which is paid digitally). Meanwhile, vinyl is becoming a collector’s item, digital cameras a status symbol, and flip phones indicators of privilege and freedom.

In addition to appstinence and technological solutions that have become popular due to their anti-technological purpose, there is also an element of friction-maxxing or the intentional introduction of obstacles, slowdowns, or irritations into everyday life.

For instance, proponents of the analog movement choose slower, more demanding, but more conscious options, so instead of letting the Spotify algorithm play songs, they get up and play a record; or instead of turning on GPS on their phone, they carry paper maps; or, imagine that courage, they ask a random passerby; or instead of an alarm on their phone, they set one on an old-fashioned alarm clock. Of course, complete disconnection is often impractical because absolutely everything happens digitally, but it helps us recalibrate the world to a human scale…

In a world where AI and algorithms (and the billionaires hiding behind them) lead the way, offline experiences have a whole new value, and brands that offer such experiences will surely have fans among the audience. Ultimately, being offline clears the noise, and perhaps it is in that silence that we might think of what we could do if the scenario from the beginning of the story comes true and evil technology steals our jobs.