Artificial Intelligence: In today’s time, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gradually become a part of almost every profession. From coding developers to accountants, marketing professionals and managers, many people are turning to AI tools for everyday work. Many times the same person uses different AI platforms. Although this definitely makes the work faster and easier, but in the long run it can also affect the mind.
A recent study, published in Harvard Business Review, sheds light on this topic. In this research, 1,488 American employees were asked about the use of AI in their work and its mental impact.
What is AI brain fry?
During the research, researchers identified a new problem which they named “AI brain fry”. This means that when a person constantly handles and monitors multiple AI tools, his brain starts feeling extremely tired. About 14 percent of the people surveyed said that they experienced mental fatigue due to continuous use of AI. Some participants reported that they experienced problems like slight buzzing in the brain, difficulty in concentrating, delayed decision making and headache.
Is this like normal burnout?
AI brain fry is considered different from traditional burnout. In general burnout, the person becomes emotionally exhausted and starts developing negative feelings towards work. But the reason for AI brain fry is something else. This is mainly related to the additional burden on the brain as one has to handle and test multiple AI systems simultaneously. For this reason, many times this problem is not easily detected even in a normal burnout survey.
Which jobs are most affected?
Research also revealed that its effect is not the same on all professions. This problem was most seen among marketing employees where about 26 percent people reported experiencing AI brain fry. After this, its effect was also seen in the employees associated with Human Resources (HR) and operations. Interestingly, software developers who use AI tools the most stood at fourth position in this list.
Fatigue management more than work
Many participants said that the real fatigue comes not from work but from handling AI tools. One engineer said that by the end of the day, he gets tired more not from the work but from managing the work. Sometimes constantly switching between different tools and double-checking everything takes a toll on the mind.
The possibility of leaving the job also increases
The research also found that employees who experienced AI brain fry had about 33 percent more decision-making fatigue. This also increases the possibility of wrong decisions and small and big mistakes. Not only this, the desire to leave the job was also seen more among those who were under more pressure from AI.
Proper use of AI is also beneficial
However, the research also made it clear that AI does not always have a negative impact. When AI was used to reduce repetitive or boring tasks, less stress was seen among employees. Such people also reported more interest in work and experienced better cooperation. From this it is clear that the impact of AI depends on how and in what quantity it is being used.
Also read:
Satellite, not a drone, still the most powerful! Why is 90 year old radar technology still the real eye of war?
