AI-Induced Hopelessness
Psychology: Mental HealthReliability: alpha 0.883 sample items
About this scale
A multi-item measure of hopelessness arising from rapid AI advancement — feelings that one's career and skills cannot keep up with the pace of change. Distinct from generic hopelessness.
Sample item(s)
“No matter what I do, AI will catch up with me”
“It is hopeless to try to keep ahead of AI”
“Trying to learn new skills is futile because AI will do them better anyway”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.88. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Conceptual basis; modern operationalizations apply Beck Hopelessness Scale items to AI context.
Source & citation
Acemoglu, D., & Restrepo, P. (2020): Robots and jobs: Evidence from US labor markets. Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 128, No. 6, pp. 2188–2244.
Acemoglu & Restrepo (2020): Robots and jobs. JPE, 128(6), 2188–2244.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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