Simon WillisonFeb 9
Interesting research in HBR today about how the productivity boost you can get from AI tools can lead to burnout or general mental exhaustion, something I've noticed in my own work https://simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/9/ai-intensifies-work/
AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It

Aruna Ranganathan and Xingqi Maggie Ye from Berkeley Haas School of Business report initial findings in the HBR from their April to December 2025 study of 200 employees at a …

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Show threadMatt Weagle

@simon Thanks for sharing - will TAL. Read the first couple of paragraphs and this passage: “we found that employees worked at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks, and extended work into more hours of the day,” reminded me of

"I have no reason to believe that gains in understandability (or on factors affecting productivity) would change that. We're just gonna get more software, moving faster, doing more things, always bordering on running out of breath.”

from https://ferd.ca/the-law-of-stretched-cognitive-systems.html

The Law of Stretched [Cognitive] Systems

The law of stretched systems, and how it may also apply to cognitive work, and our ability to deal complexity, such that any improvement is instantly exploited and we forever operate at the edge of understandability

Feb 9 at 4:57pmWeb