Most tech revolutions made work worse for employees
The author examines the historical trend of technological revolutions increasing workplace intensity rather than reducing labor. While acknowledging that AI currently risks intensifying workloads, the piece argues that it holds unique potential to shift focus toward creativity and collaboration if companies choose to prioritize quality over output volume.
Why it matters
As organizations integrate AI, this analysis highlights the critical tension between using automation to increase worker productivity versus using it to improve the quality of work and employee well-being.
People are panicking about AI, yet racing to adopt it anyway. Fear of the robot apocalypse may be real, but it’s abstract and hard to prepare for. Believing AI will make your job worse is concrete, actionable and supported by changes brought about by previous tech revolutions. New tech has often benefited companies more than employees and led to more mundane work, time in the office and even existential dread. No wonder people are learning AI to keep jobs they expect to get worse. I may be contrarian, but I think this tech revolution could be good for both companies and workers.
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