Those thinking AI will reduce their workloads might be mistaken

11 February 2026

Aruna Ranganathan and Xingqi Maggie Ye, writing for Harvard Business Review:

In our in-progress research, we discovered that AI tools didn’t reduce work, they consistently intensified it. In an eight-month study of how generative AI changed work habits at a U.S.-based technology company with about 200 employees, we found that employees worked at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks, and extended work into more hours of the day, often without being asked to do so.

Earlier generations of our families were probably told computers would bring about two-day work weeks. In reality all computers did was free up time to do yet more work.

AI is tracking that way. It might have seen off some aspects of our work, only to allow us to take on other things. But these are early days, and it could be there will be little AI cannot do. Eventually.

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