Using AI tools at work can make your job faster and easier, but if you use too many AI tools at once and/or rely too much on said AI tools, it can also make you mentally exhausted.
According to a study published by Harvard Business Review titled “When Using AI Leads to ‘Brain Fry’”, researchers found evidence of a phenomenon they’re calling “brain fry,” which describes a sort of cognitive fatigue or mental exhaustion that comes from AI usage—specifically, the oversight and management of AI tools.
In a survey of 1,488 full-time US employees at large companies across industries, roles, and levels, researchers at the Boston Consulting Group and the University of California, Riverside found that participants who juggled oversight of multiple AI tools expended more mental effort, experienced greater mental fatigue, and were more likely to experience information overload.
However, the researchers also emphasize that AI usage can help decrease the likelihood of burnout when it’s used to automate routine tasks. The “brain fry” mainly occurs with the managerial oversight that’s needed when dealing with many AI tools, leading to “an inability to think clearly, like a mental hangover, comprised of difficulty focusing, slower decision-making, and headaches, requiring several to physically step away from their computer to ‘reset.’”
According to the study, there’s evidence that productivity drops once you start using 4 or more AI tools at once. When brain fry takes hold, productivity plummets due to accumulating decision fatigue, minor errors, stress, and burnout.
