Why is automation making us work longer hours?

AI was supposed to make us work less. But it seems to be having the opposite effect by adding to the grind

- Somak Ghoshal

In 1930, economist John Maynard Keynes optimistically predicted that humans of the future would need to work only 15 hours a week because, in the next 100 years, technology would have automated many tedious and time-consuming tasks. Nearly a century later, the fantasy of 3-hour workdays hasn't come true, though many companies around the world are opting for 4-day work weeks thanks to improved efficiency in their operations due to automation. The flip side of this trend is, of course, a surge in layoffs as well as a proportional reduction in the salaries of employees working shorter shifts to maximize the company's topline. Even where an artificial intelligence (AI) mandate is yet to be formally adopted at the organizational level, AI tools are being widely used by individuals to reduce the drudgery of their daily grind.

For perspective, a recent report shows, India is the largest user of ChatGPT, surpassing the United States and Indonesia. Time that was once spent on executing repetitive tasks, like workflow management, has been freed up, allowing employees to focus more on strategic goals. The logical conclusion, based on these shifts, would be that AI's transformative hand is improving our work-life balance. If you have chunks of time freed up from your schedule, you would be most likely spending it with family or friends, or whatever activity gives you joy, right? Quite wrong, as it turns out.