Harvard Business Review: AI Doesn't Reduce Work--It Intensifies It (causing fatigue, burnout and poor decisions)

[highplainsdem]

https://hbr.org/2026/02/ai-doesnt-reduce-work-it-intensifies-it

-snip-

Task expansion. Because AI can fill in gaps in knowledge, workers increasingly stepped into responsibilities that previously belonged to others. Product managers and designers began writing code; researchers took on engineering tasks; and individuals across the organization attempted work they would have outsourced, deferred, or avoided entirely in the past.

-snip-

Blurred boundaries between work and non-work. Because AI made beginning a task so easy—it reduced the friction of facing a blank page or unknown starting point—workers slipped small amounts of work into moments that had previously been breaks. Many prompted AI during lunch, in meetings, or while waiting for a file to load. Some described sending a “quick last prompt” right before leaving their desk so that the AI could work while they stepped away.

-snip-

More multitasking. AI introduced a new rhythm in which workers managed several active threads at once: manually writing code while AI generated an alternative version, running multiple agents in parallel, or reviving long-deferred tasks because AI could “handle them” in the background. They did this, in part, because they felt they had a “partner” that could help them move through their workload.

While this sense of having a “partner” enabled a feeling of momentum, the reality was a continual switching of attention, frequent checking of AI outputs, and a growing number of open tasks. This created cognitive load and a sense of always juggling, even as the work felt productive.

-snip-

[eppur_se_muova]

1. No one could have predicted that ...

Well, no one with a financial stake in AI, anyway.

[justaprogressive]

2. K'n' F*ing R!!

[canetoad]

3. To my knowledge

I use nothing AI on my computer or devices. The fatigue, burnout and poor decisions come from time spent and frustrations at having to disable all the AI rubbish that reappears after updates.

[OC375]

4. It Works Best As a Supplementary Tool

When it's viewed as some sort of super power or level-up or force-multiplier is when problems come in. It's supposed to assist with what you already know how to do. It's isn't a teacher, a mentor or a virtual shared life experience.

People also seem to be getting cognitively dumber when they short cut thinking about how to solve problems, and just AI it. Even with online forums, debate has moved from taking the time to lay out and explain one's position to posting links to surveys, studies and basically other people's work.

[SheltieLover]

5. Ai should be illegal imo

[mwmisses4289]

6. why is it so much of the computer tech stuff actually makes for more work, not less?