I'm not sure I understand... why not simply ignore AI and keep coding the way you always have? It's a bit like saying motorboats killed your passion for rowing.
Using the email to trigger a password recovery is a good solution. But in the end, you are just outsourcing your "self-care" problem to the email provider.
I would recommend Elementary OS (Based on an Ubuntu).It is closer to an OsX experience imho. However, make no mistake, it won't replace OsX and its rich ecosystem… https://elementary.io