Is this grief?

There is a surprising parallel between the current discourse around AI and the stages of grief.

Whether you feel ahead or afraid you’re falling behind, this helped me to name what I was feeling as well as put some of the current narratives into perspective. Maybe it helps you, too.

1. Denial — “AI won’t really change my field.”
2. Anger — “Companies are destroying creative jobs.”
3. Bargaining — “If I just learn tool X I’ll be safe.”
4. Depression — “What I loved doing may disappear.”
5. Acceptance — “The field changed. Now what do I want to build next?”

I was surprised how much of what I see published — the spin, the hot takes, the think pieces — maps onto these stages. They’re not separate sentiments. They’re all part of the same thing. Most of us are somewhere in this cycle, often in more than one stage at once. It’s okay.

If this is grief…

…we’re not without guidance. Grief counselors and researchers offer a few consistent principles:

Allow the feeling rather than manage it. The instinct is to fix or shorten grief. That usually backfires — suppressed grief tends to resurface harder later.

Don’t rush the stages. The Kübler-Ross model was never meant to be linear. You move back and forth, skip stages, revisit them. Expecting a clean progression adds pressure on top of pain.

Stay connected to people. Isolation feels protective but usually makes it worse. You don’t need to talk about the grief — just being around others helps.

Keep small routines. When everything feels uncertain, small anchors — sleep, food, a walk — give the nervous system something stable to hold onto.

We’re in it together, all at once.