GRAIT-Growth Readiness in Artificial Intelligence Technologies: Quantifying the Comfort-Growth Paradox

Artificial intelligence systems, and large language models (LLMs) in particular, are increasingly embedded in everyday cognitive and emotional activities. While these systems enhance efficiency and accessibility, they also introduce a critical challenge: by systematically reducing uncertainty, AI-mediated interactions may stabilize experience without enabling psychological growth. This phenomenon is referred to as the comfort growth paradox. The goal of the GRAIT - Growth Readiness in Artificial Intelligence Technologies: Quantifying the Comfort-Growth Paradox —project is to formalize this paradox and to provide developers critical guidance to solve it. The project conceptualizes uncertainty as a psychological space in which emotional regulation, cognitive exploration, and social negotiation jointly operate. We argue that the continuous compression of this space, especially through AI-driven certainty and validation, has implications that extend beyond cognitive performance to identity formation and social cognition. To address this issue, we propose a dual-index framework combining a Comfort Growth Index (CGI), derived from learning model approach, and a Confidence Quotient (CQ), capturing psychological readiness to engage uncertainty. We outline a stagedresearch program in which these indices are empirically validated and integrated into confidence-oriented AI architectures designed to preserve engagement while supporting longterm autonomy and growth.