I feel the exact same way. Currently a college student and got interested in AI because of CHATGPT and then learning about singularity and the predicted rapid progression of AI has me spooked. I am pretty scared and sometimes even do lose sleep over it. I feel like what I am doing right now is useless too because if AI is eventually going to take it all away then what is the point of learning everday. I also struggled to wrap my head around why we are pursuing this technology when we have litle idea of its impact and because I also like "natural" world right now. However in my day to day in my best attempt to alleviate fear, I do and remind mysel fo these few things:

​

1. Spending time with those around me as much as I can - If im around pepole, it stops me from spiraling into an exsistential crisis about the future and reminds me about the beauty of humanity, as cliche as it sounds. It keeps me grounded really well!

2. Following AI experts/ leaders in the space who focus on AI in the near future > long term: We dont know what AI will look like in the long term as many predictions as there are about singularity etc. Following people who dicuss AI and in general the change in technology in the near future in a way thats not like "hype" but rather practical implications, methods, ethics, and education is nice. It's less scary to think shor term than long term becuase you can control things better in your life.

3. We dont know whats going to happen : We really dont know what can happen down the road and there are so many diverse persepctives on how things turn out. The best thing to do is just to have an idea and keep up with the space so you dont get left behind but not to get trapped by it. AI will change the world whether we like it or not but how remains to be seen. And since we dont know about the "how", its not worth losing sleep over. There are things I can do in my present day that I dont get done because I just have an exsistential crisis about the future and it hurts. But really hammering in my head that "I dont know whats gonna happen has helped me to stay away from spiraling constantly.

I know these may not be the most helpful. I also have little faith about how positive of an impact AI might have given the state of the world but I try to be optimistic because in the present day optimisim is better for my mental being overall than being a pessimist. If Im constantly negative or fearful, in the present day that harms whats happening around me. Its complicated. I wish you all the best and its nice to know that someone shares the same sentiments. The truth is we dont know whats gonna happen, but we can learn a bit about it and mostly just exist in the present.