The Automation Paradox: Why "Do More Faster" Falls Flat
Ever notice how AI is sold to companies versus how it's received by the people actually expected to use it? There's a fundamental disconnect here that I want to explore.
"Boost Your Productivity!" (Said No Employee Ever)
AI vendors are out there shouting from the rooftops:
"Boost productivity to achieve more, in work and in life!" (Microsoft)
"Simplify your busywork so you can focus on what matters most" (Claude)
"Get answers. Find inspiration. Be more productive." (OpenAI)
Great sales pitch for the C-suite! But for the rest of us already working 40+ hours a week? Crickets.
Let's be honest: If you're self-employed, own a business, or multiple businesses, doing more in less time directly benefits your bottom line. But if you're on salary? The math changes dramatically.
The unspoken question in every employee's mind is pretty simple: "My boss wants me to produce twice as much with this fancy AI... but what's in it for me exactly?"
The Fear Factor
Image source: Unsplash
I've observed that human motivation ultimately boils down to two things: fear and love.
Why do most of us drag ourselves out of bed each morning? Usually to go to work (fear of not paying bills) or to care for another being (love).
And when it comes to workplace AI, fear is doing heavy lifting:
Fear that automating your tasks means automating you out of a job
Fear that efficiency gains just mean more work piled on your plate
Fear of the learning curve and looking incompetent
It's like being asked to enthusiastically build your own replacement. No wonder there's resistance!
The Never-Ending Productivity Merry-Go-Round
Here's the cycle that’s rarely acknowledged:
Use AI to get more done in less time
Expectations rise to match your new productivity level
More work, more services, more markets, more content, more everything
Burn out
Repeat
It's a productivity merry-go-round spinning faster and faster until we all fly off from exhaustion.
Image source: Unsplash
Reframing AI: What If We Used Gains Differently?
What would happen if we approached AI from an abundance mindset instead of a productivity trap? In other words, from a place of love?
Eliminate Soul-Crushing Tasks While Keeping the Important Stuff
For 20+ years, organizations have been digitizing paperwork and adding routing systems. Yet somehow, getting a passport or resolving a landlord-tenant dispute takes longer than it used to.
Side note: There is hope - passport renewals are slowly getting better in Canada! Canadians can soon get their passport in 30 business days — or it’s free.
What if AI focused on eliminating the worst parts of bureaucracy while keeping humans in charge of judgment calls?
Imagine if AI took on the boring parts: guiding tenants through confusing forms with real-time suggestions ("Hmm, looks like you missed section 4B"), automatically handling the straightforward cases, and flagging the genuinely complex situations for human judgment. The routine stuff gets resolved in days instead of months, and the human adjudicators can focus their expertise on cases that actually need it instead of drowning in paperwork. Everyone wins—except maybe the bureaucracy itself.
The result could be happier workers and better service.
Create New Roles, Not Just Faster Old Ones
The most interesting AI jobs aren't about doing the same things quicker—they're about figuring out entirely new applications. People who can see beyond their current workflow have tremendous opportunities.
Take salespeople who use AI for proposals. If an AI can eventually handle most or all of the documentation, what happens to the salesperson? Two exciting possibilities emerge:
First, redesign the job entirely. Use humans for what humans do best—in-person meetings, relationship building, strategic thinking. Imagine salespeople who can now be proactive with clients instead of chained to their desks creating documents. They could deepen customer relationships, anticipate needs, and provide value that no AI can replicate.
Second, reskill and redeploy talent. Almost every business has ambitious goals constrained by limited resources. That salesperson who's now freed from proposal-writing could move into another area like marketing or product development, bringing valuable customer insights. The question isn't "How do we replace this role?" but "Where else could this person's human intelligence create even more value?"
Make Space for Actual Thinking
Remember "deep work"? That mythical state where knowledge workers can sit, think, and create without constant interruptions? AI could create the breathing room for that to actually happen.
The Four-Day Dream
Here's a radical thought: What if productivity gains translated to shorter workweeks rather than more output? If AI helps me finish in four days what used to take five, why am I still working on Friday?
The Bottom Line
AI should serve people, not just organizational metrics. The question isn't "How can we do more of the same, faster?" but rather "How can we work differently altogether?"
Maybe the real automation paradox is that we've gotten incredibly good at building tools that could free us from drudgery—yet we primarily use them to create more drudgery, just faster.
What would you automate if the goal wasn't productivity, but a better experience of work itself?