AI doesn’t reduce work, it intensifies it

Source: Hacker News

AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It – Harvard Business Review (via Hacker News)

Aruna Ranganathan and Xingqi Maggie Ye (Berkeley Haas School of Business) report initial findings from a study (April–December 2025) of 200 employees at a U.S.-based technology company.

Observed Effect

The authors describe a productivity boost from large language models (LLMs) that feels exhausting. AI introduces a new work rhythm where employees:

• Manage several active threads simultaneously (e.g., writing code while AI generates alternatives).
• Run multiple agents in parallel.
• Revive long‑deferred tasks because AI can “handle them” in the background.

Workers perceive AI as a “partner” that helps maintain momentum, but the reality involves:

• Constant attention switching.
• Frequent checking of AI outputs.
• A growing number of open tasks, increasing cognitive load.

Personal Experience

• Working on two or three projects in parallel yields high output, yet after an hour or two mental energy is nearly depleted.
• Colleagues report losing sleep, driven by the irresistible urge to add “just one more prompt” and build another feature.

Organizational Implications

The HBR article recommends that organizations:

• Build an AI practice to structure AI usage.
• Implement safeguards to avoid burnout.
• Develop methods to distinguish genuine productivity gains from unsustainable intensity.

Outlook

The introduction of AI challenges decades‑old intuitions about sustainable work practices. Finding a balanced approach will require time, discipline, and thoughtful organizational design.