- Now humans are given AI management roles, adding pressure
- Because the roles are perceived as “easier”, they do not receive salary increases
- Long-term sustainability is key to overriding many of our fears.
a new Occupational Medicine A magazine article has uncovered the potential impacts AI could have on work, and it could mean we will face increased workloads without seeing a corresponding pay rise.
By automating routine and administrative tasks, AI has now presented human workers with a new challenge: managing them. Researchers are concerned that this could increase stress and pressure, especially without proper training.
All of this comes as AI promises to deliver huge productivity gains, but the reality is that the technology has threatened to create major industrial shifts and even displace (or redefine) entry-level workers.
Does AI make work more stressful?
The report warns that AI can increase workers’ responsibilities despite claiming to make work easier, so wages do not increase. For example, a separate 2024 report cited in the article shows how AI tools can slow down work, causing employees to check and fix AI errors that would not have otherwise existed.
The researchers describe them as “hidden workloads that negate the benefit of automating outsourcing tasks.”
Looking ahead, the research calls for more attention to be paid to where humans sit “in the [AI] loop.” Poor management can also lead to productivity gaps, as well as health consequences and unemployment across industries, age groups and regions.
A previous MIT study found that about one in nine jobs in the United States could be replaced by artificial intelligence. Separate data from the Bank of England and the ONS shows that youth unemployment is rising across the UK.
As AI is more rapidly transforming historically slow-moving industries, the report underscores the urgency of “finding paths to sharing learning.”
While many fear that AI could replace jobs, this report concludes that greater attention must be paid to how we manage this transition period to ensure humans continue to play a sustainable role in productivity.
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