Howard
L⁂Rhodes"People who use AI at work feel that they're more productive" is an argument I've been seeing in various forms lately, which, as a recommendation, is not far removed from "people on cocaine at parties feel that they're more interesting."
"When developers are allowed to use AI tools, they take 19% longer to complete issues—a significant slowdown that goes against developer beliefs and expert forecasts. This gap between perception and reality is striking: developers expected AI to speed them up by 24%, and even after experiencing the slowdown, they still believed AI had sped them up by 20%." https://metr.org/blog/2025-07-10-early-2025-ai-experienced-os-dev-study/
Kris Dreemurr (they/them) of the Pnictogen Wing@lrhodes honestly, if someone could collectively tie the entire tech sector to a chair and smack them around with a 2x4 until they stopped using words like "productive" and "productivity" to describe what they do, I'd be eternally grateful ~Chara
Jamie Gaskins@lrhodes Yeah, people feel productive while wasting all kinds of time — their own and that of others.
Bonkers
Hugs4friends ♾🇺🇦 🇵🇸😷
Randagodron@lrhodes or more directly : people working on cocaine think they are more productive.
And this does not address the core problem : why are our jobs so f**ked up that people feel the need to use drugs or ai ?
And this does not address the core problem : why are our jobs so f**ked up that people feel the need to use drugs or ai ?
Nicod, The Fediverse Dude@lrhodes Yes but did you try cocaine?
Lillian Violet@lrhodes I'm guessing the feeling of extra productivity comes from the reduced critical thinking you have to use when you utilize these tools. But doing less cognitive flexing is a bad thing on both an individual and structural level, critical thinking is a muscle and we're entering an era of mass atrophy.
Dubi is here 
@GLaDTheresCake @lrhodes I would think quite the opposite - AI can take over all the bullshit you need to engage in at work and leave you to to actually do your work. "Chat, can you write a response to this email telling them to fuck off but more professionally?"
The question is why do we need to engage in so much bullshit at work
@Dubikan @lrhodes I'm not pulling this idea out of the air, there is already a preliminary study saying it: https://time.com/7295195/ai-chatgpt-google-learning-school/
And while this isn't peer reviewed nor generalizable to the general use of LLMs in general. It would not surprise me at all if that would be the case as well. Critical thinking is something you have to put effort into, something that has decreased a lot already with recommendation algorithms et al. in modern times. I don't think it matters that much what you use it for, boundaries and good processes will always be better than using a mind (and environment let's not forget) killing tool for anything. Especially since the barrier to using it for other things becomes lower if you already regularly use it.
And while this isn't peer reviewed nor generalizable to the general use of LLMs in general. It would not surprise me at all if that would be the case as well. Critical thinking is something you have to put effort into, something that has decreased a lot already with recommendation algorithms et al. in modern times. I don't think it matters that much what you use it for, boundaries and good processes will always be better than using a mind (and environment let's not forget) killing tool for anything. Especially since the barrier to using it for other things becomes lower if you already regularly use it.
@GLaDTheresCake @lrhodes
Are you familiar with the Pessimists Archive? https://pessimistsarchive.org/list/novels
I'll wait for more conclusive evidence that the New Thing will have Terrible Consequences for humanity.
@Dubikan @lrhodes I'm not pessimistic, I have grounded criticism of modes of production that are exploitative. Don't try and mansplain what I think as if they are shallow pessimism and instead engage with actual ethics within technology. All you're doing is framing yourself as "an optimist" and everyone critical of issues causes as a "pessimist" which is intellectually dishonest.
ChookMother 🇦🇺🦘@lrhodes 1) They've been told it will make them more productive. 2) They know what their boss wants to hear.
Wouter LindenhofThere is a huge difference between "feeling productive" and "being productive".
My "most" productive day was when I did absolutely nothing to two high priority bugs and still got a thank you when both problems fixed themselves.
Zero effort = Max result
My "least" productive day was when I wrote a complete new framework only to throw it away since we didn't need it.
Max effort = Zero result
Graham Downs@lrhodes it's difficult to quantify. I mean, you still have to check AI's answers/work, and that surely eats into your productivity. But that may take less time than doing the work, or coming up with the answers, yourself. Or maybe not; it depends on the work.
Using AI is definitely a different experience.
Are you using it to generate boilerplate code? Learn new skills? Throw together quick marketing images? Wireframe mock-ups? Or are you using it to research complex topics? How about editing your manuscripts before publication?
It depends....
SkirosIt gives a dopamine hit every time I edit a prompt and it gets me closer to its intended function. And with every use of such prompts to automate boring repetitive tasks. It must be the quick feedback loops.
But I've developed a dependency on it for other less productive tasks, which is... well, shit!
Jeremy Kahnthe analogy of hijacking a reward sensor pathway holds up here
"in my experience, when I produce lots of code & it looks good at a first glance, I've had a massively productive day"
does not entail
"producing lots of code that looks good at a first glance" is productivity
just as
"in my experience, when dopamine levels in my brain are soaring, I'm contributing to my own life and the people around me"
does not entail
"spiking my dopamine levels" is prosocial
David Gerard@lrhodes the analogy is extremely close! https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/06/05/generative-ai-runs-on-gambling-addiction-just-one-more-prompt-bro/
Gary McGraw@lrhodes they often are
Andrew Benedict-Nelson@lrhodes I'm sure there are situations where it increases productivity, but they are far more limited than the discourse implies
Strfnurfn@albnelson @lrhodes and even if there are short-term gains, the loss of skill and knowledge is almost a kind of tech debt.
indigoviolet 
@lrhodes The ever-reliable AI->cocaine text replacement
Suzanne she/her@lrhodes lol. Perfect analogy.
eestileib (she/hers)See also: high musicians
Craig Stewart@lrhodes it's like the story my dad told me.
An oil company has a rig that keeps shutting down because of high pressure anomalies. They call in an expert. He looks the rig over. Draws an x with chalk and says "drill a hole there". They do and the problems disappear. He sends a £15000 invoice. They ask for it to be itemized. Placing chalk mark £1, knowing where to place the chalk mark £14999.
AI can place thousands of chalk marks. But the value isn't in the chalk marks!
Man aging with style@lrhodes
Mentally replacing "AI" with "cocaine" remains undefeated
Mentally replacing "AI" with "cocaine" remains undefeated
Author-ized L.J.@lrhodes I mean considering that cocaine was unironically praised and quite respectable at places and times like the U.S. in the early 20th century... 'A Connecticut pharmacy’s 1905 newspaper ad boasted, “Coca wine will make a new man or woman of you. Invigorates and stimulates the brain, muscles, nerves, stomach, and heart.” ' It was also marketed for use in children 😬 https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57988/11-unbelievable-moments-cocaines-early-medical-history
