What if AI is actually setting us up to work more, not less?

A new study from Harvard with Proctor & Gamble professionals (see link in comments) showed that individuals working with AI performed just as well as teams without AI. It also found that people using AI feel happier and less stressed.

But I wonder if feeling less anxious when using AI is just temporary. Eventually, it will demand more from us than we bargained for.

As AI becomes a bigger part of our daily work, what will we do with the time we save? Will we spend it doing things we love? Being with people who matter to us? Following our passions?

Or will we just end up doing more work? Will we even get to choose? Or will workplace pressure decide for us?

I’d like to think we’ll have a choice. But looking at how we’ve handled technology in the past makes me wonder. We’re much more productive than we were 100 years ago. Yet most of us still work 40-60 hours a week.

Maybe it’s just how we’re built. We always want to achieve more. It’s in our DNA to push forward. We see it in all facets of life from sports to medical breakthroughs. It’s what makes us human, both a blessing and a curse. It’s what makes us the most adaptable creatures on this planet.

But I also wonder if AI will allow us to reframe the question. Maybe the better question is “Will AI allow us to do more meaningful work?” rather than “Will AI make us do more or less work?”

This is what’s on my mind this Sunday morning. I’m curious what you think. Will AI give us more freedom? Or just higher targets to hit?