Mar 27 • General discussion
Are We Using AI Like The Washing Machine Theory?
I came across something this week that completely reframed how I think about AI productivity.
In the 1950s, the automatic washing machine was supposed to free up hours of women's time. But by the 1970s, women were actually spending more time on laundry than before. The machine made it easier, so standards went up. People just washed more often.
A Harvard Business Review study from last month found the exact same thing happening with AI. Researchers tracked 40 workers over eight months.
They got faster. Then they just took on more work. Then they started working after hours because the tool was always available. Then quality dropped.
Can you belive that AI didn't reduce the work but instead it intensified it?
I was playing with my girls Saturday afternoon when this clicked for me. I had my phone down. I was present. And I thought, this is what I'm actually protecting when I help a client design their AI systems. Not efficiency.
Presence.
Here's the belief shift: "AI will give me my time back" is incomplete. The full truth is AI will give you time back only if you decide what that time is for before you implement anything.
When I onboard a new client, the first question I ask is not "what do you want to automate." It's "what do you want to be doing with the hours you get back."
Because if you don't answer that question, your calendar will answer it for you. And it will fill every gap with more work.
What are your thoughts on this?👇
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Are We Using AI Like The Washing Machine Theory?
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