Why Hasn’t AI Made Work Easier?

Here’s a pattern I’ve observed again and again: A new technology promises to speed up some annoying aspects of our jobs. Everyone gets excited about freeing up time for deep work and leisure. We end up busier than before without producing of the high-value output that actually moves the needle. This happened with the front-office IT revolution, and email, and mobile computing, and once again with video-conferencing. I’m now starting to fear that we’re beginning to encounter the same thing with AI as well.