New study casts doubt on AI enabling improved work-life balance
It was undertaken by researchers at Auburn, Emory, and Fordham universities.
A new study from researchers at Emory, Fordham, and Auburn universities examines the promise of artificial intelligence (AI) to provide more free time for workers and draws an interesting conclusion.
“Historically, technological advancements like the Industrial Revolution and automation
initially increased work hours as productivity demands rose and labor shifted to factory-based
systems,” the authors write. “Over time, however, productivity gains and social reforms reduced work hours, especially in developed economies, enabling improved work-life balance. Such a historical trend has contributed to the expectation for AI technologies. Our findings challenge the prevailing goal and assumption that technology progress improves lives including alleviating human labor burdens. Instead, they uncover a paradox where AI-driven productivity gains and enhanced monitoring efficiency extend workdays, especially in contexts with limited opportunities for workers to share in the benefits.”
The study, titled “AI and the Extended Workday: Productivity, Contracting Efficieny, and Distribution of Rents,” was undertaken by Wei Jiang (Emory), Junyoung Park (Auburn), and Rachel (Jiqiu) Xiao and Shen Zhang (both from Fordham). It was copywritten by the authors and published by the National Bureau of Economic Research which noted the report had not been peer-reviewed.
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