by Peter Cosgrove, MD of Futurewise Ltd.
Artificial intelligence is hailed as a productivity revolution. With a few prompts, it can draft reports, analyse data, or build presentations in seconds. But in practice, AI may — at least in the short term — push us into working longer hours, spending more time on low-value tasks, and paradoxically achieving less. History shows how innovation often backfires. Smartphones promised connection but delivered distraction. Email sped up communication but chained us to our inboxes. Remote working, once lauded for efficiency, is now being challenged by leaders who see it as enabling slacking.
Generative AI risks repeating these patterns. On the surface, it accelerates output. But the ability to produce vast amounts of content instantly carries hidden costs:
- Regulatory gridlock: A GPT-drafted 1,000-page objection can swamp regulators
- Fraud and spam: Easier to scale, harder to detect, and expensive to police.
- Entertainment overload: Hyper-personalised distractions that soak up our attention.
In each case, time saved on one side becomes time wasted on the other.
A Lawyer’s Dream, A Worker’s Burden: Take the legal world. In the 1970s, a multimillion-dollar deal might have fit on 15 pages. Today, AI can generate contracts that cover every possible edge case. The result? Thousand-page documents and weeks of wrangling. Litigation costs fall, but the volume of disputes rises. What should streamline work instead multiplies it.
The Workplace Risk: For employees, the danger is clear: AI may fill the day with reactive tasks rather than meaningful progress. Productivity risks going the way of email — plenty of motion, little traction. The creep goes further. Firms such as Voci and CallMiner already use AI to analyse speech patterns and score human empathy. For staff, that means performance ratings dictated by opaque algorithms they cannot contest. Instead of empowering people, AI surveillance adds stress, shifting focus from serving customers to appeasing software. Poorly designed systems erode morale, trust, and service quality.
A Smarter Way Forward: AI is a tool, not a destiny. Leaders must ensure it simplifies, not complicates, work. That means:
- Defining which outputs truly matter.
- Protecting time for deep work.
- Guarding attention from overload.
- Keeping technology aligned with purpose.
Used wisely, AI can strip away drudgery and unleash creativity. Used blindly, it risks delivering more clutter, longer hours, and less real productivity.
About the author
Peter Cosgrove leads Futurewise and is an expert on future trends and a much sought-after speaker on talks related to the future of work. He has over 25 years business experience on executive teams as well as on not for profit boards as board member and Chairman. He has been Chair of Junior Achievement Ireland, the National Recruitment Federation and currently serves on the 30% Club Steering Committee tackling gender balance and is Vice Chairman of Aware, a leading mental health charity. Peter has served as a Board adviser for a number of Staffing organisations and has been a contributor to the Expert Group on Future Skills.
