AI-Generated ‘Workslop’ Masquerades as Good Work, Ruins Productivity: Harvard Review

Employees were found to be generating ‘low-effort, passable looking work’ that simply increased the workload for other employees.

A computer with the Open AI logo is staged on a gradient blue background with the shadow of a man in the background in Grenoble, France, on Feb. 12, 2025. Anouk Anglade/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in workplaces is resulting in lower productivity due to employees using them to create substandard output, according to a Sept. 22 analysis published in the Harvard Business Review.

“A confusing contradiction is unfolding in companies embracing generative AI tools: while workers are largely following mandates to embrace the technology, few are seeing it create real value,” the report said.