INTHEBLACK November 2026 - Magazine - Page 53
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AI’s
productivity
paradox
AI is meant to lighten cognitive load. However, too many tools, outputs
and re-checks could be creating a new kind of workplace fatigue.
Words Megan Breen
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS PROVING TO BE
a great productivity tool that helps to manage
routine work and free professionals up for the
tasks that require a human mind. But what if the
tools built to lighten cognitive load are adding
to it?
Harvard Business Review calls the mental
fatigue that builds up from spending too much
time interacting with such tools AI “brain fry”.
For finance and business leaders who have
been pushing AI adoption as a productivity lever,
poorly implemented strategies may be creating
a new form of overload — one where employees
are switching between tools and managing
increasingly complex workflows.
Dr David Tuffley, technology communicator
and senior fellow of the Higher Education
Academy at Griffith University, Queensland,
Australia, says the problem often starts with
volume. Trying to fold AI-generated material
into a final piece of work, he says, is where
the exhaustion sets in.
“It can very easily turn into an overwhelming
amount of data, and if you think you should
be bringing all of it into the discussion, or into
the outputs you are creating, it can be stressful,”
Tuffley says. “If people go about it the right
way, then there are real gains to be made.
But equally, going about it the wrong way
is counterproductive.”
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au
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