Instead of Becoming More Productive, Excessive AI Use Causes Stress

Various Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are almost always claimed to complete tasks quickly, thereby enhancing human productivity. However, the latest study results show that excessive AI use actually causes stress.

The study, published in Harvard Business Review (HBR), indicates that over-reliance on AI leads to “AI brain fry,” a condition of mental fatigue from using AI too frequently, exceeding human cognitive capacity.

In the latest research titled When Using AI Leads to “Brain Fry,” HBR surveyed around 1,500 full-time workers in the United States.

The findings show that some workers who use AI intensively experience mental fatigue, difficulty focusing, and slower decision-making.

The research details that out of nearly 1,500 surveyed workers, about 14 percent of respondents admitted to experiencing the condition known as “brain fry.” The highest percentages were found in marketing, software development, HR (Human Resources), finance, and IT fields.

Julie Bedard, Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group and author of the study, said these findings serve as an early warning for companies overly optimistic about productivity gains from AI.

“AI can develop very quickly, but we still have the same brains as yesterday,” said Bedard.

According to Bedard, these findings are an “early warning sign” that expectations around AI productivity may need to be reset.

AI companies promise that AI can dramatically increase productivity. Regardless of whether this is true, this technology enables workers to perform multiple tasks simultaneously at speeds and workloads far exceeding their normal capabilities.

This appears to be part of the problem related to the cognitive impact on workers.

Interestingly, the study also found a paradox for employees. AI can reduce stress while also adding stress for workers.

When AI is used to take over routine and repetitive tasks, workers’ stress levels actually decrease. However, when workers must oversee multiple AI tools (three or more) at once or switch between AI tools, mental pressure increases sharply.

This is caused by information overload, rapid task switching, and the need to continuously check AI outputs.

Many workers describe the brain fry experience as feeling like “mental fog” or a head full like having many browser tabs open at once.