How using AI at work can hurt your career, according to experts

Using artificial intelligence can make people “bored,” according to Sandra Matz, a professor at Columbia Business School. His research on this topic shows two direct effects on employees: resilience and mediocrity.

“If employees use it to express deep ideas or smart thinking, there is a big risk that they will gradually become indifferent,” said Matz.

Another reason for that is that many AI tools produce very transparent and safe answers, he said: “In short, we become like everyone else.”

Already 43% of US workers report using AI in their work, according to a study published in March by the Federal Reserve Bank of St.

But many experts may struggle to distinguish between helpful and harmful ways to use technology, said Fred Oswald, an industry psychologist and former member of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee.

“There are Wild West uses of AI that need to be understood and explored, so that employees and organizations can manage risk and benefit,” Oswald said.

Using AI can be “great” for automating productivity and speeding up day-to-day tasks, Matz said. You can also use technology as “a sophisticated partner in brainstorming,” she said.

But you don’t want AI to replace your thinking, problem-solving and creativity, he added.

“When all employees start consulting with AI when developing their ideas, independent thinking starts to allow algorithmic consensus,” Matz said.

Americus Reed II, a professor of marketing at the Wharton School of Business, said that his colleagues describe outsourcing your critical thinking to AI as “mental sacrifice.”

Instead, AI is best used to summarize information, analyze data and organize ideas, Reed said.

“It should remove the conflict, not replace the judgment,” he said. “The goal is to spend less time processing information and more time creating meaning.”

Those just starting their careers should be especially careful that AI doesn’t disrupt their learning, said Dorothy Leidner, a professor of business and ethics at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

“The risk is higher for young workers who don’t have the deep intelligence to help them use AI as a thought enhancer rather than a thought generator,” Leidner said.

Using AI to write emails or Slack messages to colleagues, employees or managers will “slowly erode trust,” Matz said.

While AI can summarize a meeting or put together a progress report, informal interactions in the workplace must be organic and automatic, he said.

“When we suspect that the message was sent to AI, we may start to doubt whether our colleagues care about writing to us,” he said.

Imperfections, lack of polish and tension in communication lead to poor communication, he said.

“Retaining those human characteristics in our interactions will be a major challenge for organizations using AI,” Matz said.

Leidner said he also recommends not relying too much on a “digital twin,” or virtual clone, when talking to people you know.

“When we get to the point where AI generates emails and AI responds to emails, there’s no real communication happening,” Leidner said.

Eva Selenko, a professor of occupational psychology at Loughborough University in England, said she is particularly concerned about people using AI to perform tasks that are “core to a person’s self-understanding as a professional.”

“Seeing a tool that makes you successful in an important job of your profession can be dangerous,” Selenko said. “When these opportunities are taken away, your thinking becomes increasingly unstable.”

However, experiences like this may be avoidable as technology improves, Reed said.

“When AI performs tasks you’ve long considered ‘your thing,’ it’s natural to ask, ‘What value am I still bringing?'” Reed said.

The answer isn’t to stop using the tools, but to find your own definition “about qualities AI can’t replicate,” Reed said.

“Employees need to remember that adopting AI is not the same as taking away your identity,” he said. “Technology is changing rapidly, but unique human skills – judgment, creativity, curiosity and relationships – are becoming more and more valuable.”