A report from the Harvard Business Review warns that AI-generated “work slop” is killing productivity in the workplace.
In a report by Kate Niederhoffer, Gabriella Rosen Kellerman, et al., the researchers argue that despite the surge in the use of generative AI, companies are not seeing a significant return on their investment.
Currently, Harvard is arguing that the generative AI tools are being used to produce what is known as “workslop”, which the researchers define as content that appears polished but lacks any real substance. Harvard states that, in turn, this passes the actual cognitive labour onto coworkers.
According to the article, research from BetterUp Labs and Stanford University found that 41 per cent of workers have encountered the previously mentioned AI-generated output, which Harvard states costs employees two hours of rework per instance. Harvard also states that this is creating downstream problems with productivity, trust, and collaboration.
Similarly, a study by Growclass and Angus Reid showed that of the less than half of Canadians (42 per cent) using AI, only 12 per cent had received proper training on how to utilize the tools.
On this topic, the researchers state that management should model purposeful AI use, establish clear norms, and encourage a “pilot mindset”, which combines high agency with optimism, which the article states promotes AI as a collaborative tool rather than a shortcut.
Source: Harvard Business Review
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