In the past few years, many in the tech field have outsourced part of their thinking to AI. Tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and others have become commonplace, helping humans debug code, draft reports, or brainstorm ideas. Productivity is soaring. But something else is happening at the same time. Many techies invest less in the learning process, think less critically, and feel disconnected from their work. AI may be boosting performance, but it’s often draining motivation.
“We’ve seen a tendency for people to go on autopilot,” says Mike Anderson, CIO at Netskope. “When someone pastes AI-generated content into an email or presentation without reading or editing it, that’s not productivity — that’s disengagement.”
A recent experimental study published in Scientific Reports supports Anderson’s concerns. Researchers found that while AI improved performance in the moment, it didn’t lead to better results later on, when people tackled similar tasks without its help. Moreover, when subjects switched back to working solo, many said they felt less motivated and more bored. In other words AI helps us be sharper right now, but at the cost of making the next task feel more tedious, less engaging, and less meaningful.
