New research published by Harvard Business Review found that AI tools in a U.S. technology company did not reduce employee workload over an eight month period. Instead, workloads increased. Employees took on broader responsibilities, worked longer hours, and multitasked more frequently than before.
The study followed around 200 employees who independently began using AI, analyzing work habits and conducting more than 40 in depth interviews. AI enabled workers to tackle tasks outside their usual roles, making unfamiliar work more manageable. However, researchers also observed a blurring of boundaries between work and rest, as employees frequently sent AI queries after working hours or during breaks.
Engineers also spent more time reviewing and advising colleagues on AI assisted code, while requests for “vibe coding” continued to accumulate. Although AI delivers real productivity gains, the Harvard study shows it also brings an unexpected tradeoff: expanded roles, blurred boundaries, and an accelerated pace of work that many employees may not yet be ready to sustain.
In Brief: Tech World Highlights
• Indian startup Addverb introduced Elixis, a line of bipedal and wheeled humanoids designed for work in warehouses and factories.
• Ocado, the British online grocer and warehouse robotics specialist, plans to cut up to 1,000 jobs, about 5 percent of its workforce, following a difficult year for its automated fulfillment centers.
• YouTube added an AI feature that allows Premium users to generate music playlists based on text or voice prompts on iOS and Android devices.
• Instagram is reportedly testing “Instants,” a standalone Snapchat style app, along with a related feature for sending disappearing photos and messages.
• The decentralized social network Bluesky has finally introduced the long requested drafts feature, allowing users to save unfinished posts and edit them later.
AI Trending Tools:
• Bland AI, automates business phone calls using AI.
• Midjourney, Niji V7 model with improved anime style, text rendering, and more.
• Scribe v2, a new state of the art transcription model from ElevenLabs.
