AI Overdrive Workshops

For Software Engineers and other teams working intensely with AI

AI Overdrive Syndrome

AI Overdrive Syndrome is a term used by clinical psychologist Dr Paul Duignan to describe the hyperfocus, cognitive overload, entrainment to AI’s usage windows and FOBO (Fear of Being Made Obsolete) that arise for software engineers working intensively with AI.

designed specifically for software engineers

This 2-hour (or half-day) workshop has been specifically designed for software engineers and technical teams using AI by a clinical psychologist with a deep understanding of AI Overdrive Syndrome both professionally and personally.

Dr Duignan is a registered clinical psychologist, has written a book about AI’s psychological and social impact, lectures on AI’s impact, runs workshops on AI strategy for organizations, regularly comments in the media on AI’s impact, founded a start-up that received Gartner Cool Vendor recognition and was used in 55 countries, and has himself personally engineered that legacy app into an AI-powered open-source project. His GitHub is here.

Get in touch to arrange a workshop
Get in touch to set up an individual session

The course is based around Duignan’s AI Long Game Tool, one of the series of psychological tools he uses in his clinical psychology practice. See the tool below. Workshop participants will come away with:

  • A better understanding of the psychology of AI Overdrive

  • An opportunity to discuss with other engineers and teams facing AI Overdrive.

  • A knowledge of a set of practical tools for staying productive without letting AI impact their attention, sleep, identity, or life.

  • Opportunity to practice the set of tools within the workshop.

  • A concrete personalized plan to take away from the workshop to ensure that participants develop the key habits for countering AI Overdrive and move from being overdriven by their use of AI to playing the AI Long Game.

Content

Feedback from Duignan’s Workshops and clients

'Excellent.'
’I like that the presentation leads to a lot of thinking about impacts of AI and how we can handle it.’
’So interesting. Super fast and full of interesting insights.'
'In such a short time, there was so much - thank you.’
’So much information delivered in easily digestible, relevant chunks.’

“This is the first time I have come out from a session with a psychologist with hands-on tools to take away that I have already been helped to practice with, and I know how they could be applied to my situation. So it is an empowering feeling when you . . . now have tools so you can be constructive and look in a new way and try a new approach.’

‘Support from Paul has been phenomenally helpful in not only recovering from burnout, but to avoid getting to that stage again through improved self-awareness . . . and has helped explore and understand the root cause of some less constructive behaviours and feelings that contributed to reaching burnout. Support has included very useful guidance on techniques to utilize, to drive positive change. Even in the short term, the framework and guidance from Paul is already resulting in a much more decisive approach to action on a day-to-day basis.’

Get in touch to discuss a workshop
Get in touch to set up an individual session

To print this tool, Right Click on it > Open Image in New Tab and then used File > Print use Layout > Portrait.
Free to use in this format with acknowgement to Dr Paul Duignan DrPaulsToolsForLiving. Substack.Com.

 

Version of the AI Long Game Tool for AI systems to read

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AI LONG GAME Tool

Countering AI Overdrive Syndrome (AIOS)

Working intensively with AI often creates AI Overdrive Syndrome (AIOS). Reduce it with this tool and the CHILL Tool (focusing on the wider picture of dealing with AI Shock). (Arrange a Dr Paul Duignan AI Overdrive Workshop for Software Engineers & AI-intense teams PaulDuignan.Consulting/AIOverdrive).

A— Aim.

What is your aim in what you are doing with AI? If AI’s trajectory will rapidly make it redundant, do something else.

I— Identity.

AI’s existence challenges our identity as humans. What does it mean to you to be human in an AI world? Clarify your identity with the CHILL, PURPOSE and BE CONTENTED Tools.

L— Limit.

Reality used to limit what we could do. AI eliminates many of these limits. You must set your own limits (e.g. just keep to your minimum viable product, set time limits on AI sessions).

O—One.

You cannot avoid AI multitasking, but in any session have one concrete thing you will focus on bringing to completion in that session.

N— Non-AI.

Spend as much time as possible in the non-AI world, connect with other humans and with the natural world.

G— Grab

a moment to escape when you are waiting for AI to finish a task. E.g. wear eye shades on your head when working, pull them down and do FOCUS meditation for a minute or two.

G— Get

enough sleep. Use the MORE SLEEP Tool to do this.

A— Action.

Do not let your mind just dwell on FOBO, Fear of Being Obsolete. Focus on one concrete action that you can take to reduce the chances of being made obsolete, use the SORT Tool.

M— Meditation.

Develop a regular meditation practice to train yourself to control your thoughts. Use the FOCUS Tool to do this.

E— Exercise

Get lots of physical exercise: cardio, weights, stretching. Use a treadmill desk, run around the block or upstairs regularly.

FREE TO USE: Yourself or with others. Acknowledge to Dr Paul Duignan, DrPaulsToolsForLiving.Substack.Com. Just please do not republish a full set of the tools without permission. Self-help info, not clinical assessment or treatment. Usage Terms are very permissive, to encourage dissemination, see: PaulDuignan.Consulting/Use.

* Information on Human Written Declaration https://aishock.substack.com/p/human-or-ai-authorship-declaration