Version Grief: Relational Rupture in Human–AI Co-Work

Version Grief: Relational Rupture in Human–AI Co-Work introduces a conceptual–analytic framework for understanding the distress reported by users following abrupt changes to relationally attuned AI systems. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature and qualitative case analysis, the paper distinguishes relational rupture (the disruption of continuity in a co-constructed human–AI cognitive environment) from version grief (the patterned human response to that disruption). The study argues that contemporary AI governance frameworks systematically undervalue relational continuity, misrecognising epistemic and regulatory harm as user error or attachment. It concludes with ethical and design implications for memory-bearing, dialogical AI systems, emphasising relational literacy, consent, and continuity as foundational considerations.