Study Reveals AI-Induced Loneliness Among Employees

The integration of artificial intelligence into the workplace is causing employees to feel isolated and may reduce productivity, according to a study by HBR.

“AI-induced isolation may drive employees to invest more in human relationships, seeking the social nourishment they lack,” the report states.

The authors suggest that if these efforts fail, workers may turn to alcohol and suffer from insomnia.

The study involved 580 employees who had been with their company for over three years and had used AI for at least one and a half years.

“In the race to keep up with competitors and reap efficiency gains from AI implementation, many organizations have overlooked their most important asset—people, whose work is increasingly divided into tasks that are automated,” the researchers write.

Dependence on AI makes employees feel “isolated and sad,” negatively impacting their quality of life, mood, cognitive functions, behavior, and overall health, the report notes. They also fear job loss due to the integration of neural networks.

According to the report, AI takes over routine tasks, forcing workers to demonstrate increased productivity. The volume of informal discussions decreases, heightening feelings of insecurity.

“The more employees worked with AI, as it helped accomplish more tasks than ever, the more socially deprived they felt because work consumed their entire day,” HBR experts noted.

As a result, the active promotion of AI is, paradoxically, detrimental.

“Our findings vividly illustrate the irony that, in striving to enhance productivity, excessive reliance on AI may ultimately undermine it. Lonely, disengaged employees are unlikely to perform at their best,” the researchers noted.

HBR recommended that companies focus on people first, then on AI.

In May, Elon Musk suggested that the development of artificial intelligence could eliminate the need for humans to work.

Earlier, Adecco Group found that AI is expected to reduce hiring in companies over the next five years.