18.03.2026, Austin.
A large-scale study has shown that the introduction of so-called artificial intelligence (AI) speeds up work rather than reducing it, thereby debunking the myth that neural networks would make work easier for humans, Rossa Primavera News Agency IT Desk wrote.
The technology company ActivTrak, which specializes in monitoring and analyzing workplace productivity, published its annual report on March 11 titled “2026 State of the Workplace: AI Adoption and Workforce Performance Benchmarks”. Among other things, it presents a subset on the behavior of 10,584 employees over a period of 180 days before and after the introduction of AI tools.
As it turned out, when using neural networks, people work faster, but their workload also increases. Time spent on email rose by 104%, on chats and messengers by 145%, and on business management by up 94%.
“No activity category decreased after adoption. AI is functioning as an additional productivity layer — not a substitute for existing work,” the report reads.
Formally, one could say that productivity has increased, and that is a positive result. But why did it become necessary to double the time spent on email? Because in other companies, more emails began to be mass-produced with the help of neural networks.
People did not start working less, they started working more in every respect. More emails, more messages, more business management tasks. Yes, AI has taken over part of the routine, but it has also multiplied it. But will a factory’s productivity really increase just because the number of processed emails has grown?
Another negative phenomenon was also identified – an increase in disengagement. People complete more tasks, but constant switching leads to less engagement in their work. The average duration of uninterrupted focused work was 13 minutes and 7 seconds. In addition, constant access to neural networks has led employees to work with them more even on weekends.
As a result, workloads are rising, while the depth and quality of work are declining. The time a person can devote to themselves is also shrinking. Neural networks have not made life easier; they have compressed it to a state where there is less and less room for human thinking.
We are used to thinking of technological progress as a force that ultimately frees humans from the burden of labor. The steam engine replaced muscles, the assembly line replaced hands, and the computer replaced paper routine. Each new wave of technology brought hope for liberation from alienated labor and each time, those hopes were not fulfilled. They have not been fulfilled this time either.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
