Experts say overusing AI is actually exhausting your brain

AI was supposed to take work off our plates. You ask a bot to write something, another one to summarize it, another one to turn it into slides, and maybe a fourth to automate the workflow. Productivity unlocked, right? Well… maybe not. A new study suggests that constantly juggling AI tools might actually be exhausting people mentally instead of helping them. “AI brain fry” is what researchers are calling it.

The weird paradox of AI at work

Researchers surveyed about 1,500 workers, and the results showed that while AI can reduce burnout, it can also cause it. When people used AI to offload repetitive tasks, stress levels went down. But when workers had to constantly supervise multiple AI systems, check outputs, tweak prompts, and bounce between tools, fatigue went up fast.

About one in seven workers said they’ve experienced serious mental fatigue from juggling AI tools.

Why your brain gets fried

Here’s the tricky part about working with AI. You’re not just doing one task. You’re actually doing multiple tasks at the same time: giving instructions, checking the AI’s work, and at the same time, figuring out what to fix next.

And because AI does not always get things right the first time, you end up looping through the process over and over again. Researchers say that kind of constant oversight creates decision fatigue, which eventually leads to mistakes and slower thinking.

As Boston Consulting Group researcher Julie Bedard put it, AI might be moving fast, but our brains are still the same ones we had yesterday.

The “AI multitasking” problem

People who work heavily with AI tools say the exhaustion is real. Jack Downey, who builds AI automation systems for clients, described the experience as constantly waiting for one tool to finish while starting another. Sometimes, a task finishes in seconds. Other times, it takes minutes. Meanwhile, you’re bouncing between windows, adjusting prompts, and trying to keep everything moving.

It sounds efficient on paper. But in reality, it can feel like running ten browser tabs inside your brain all day. And before you know it, your “AI shortcut” just turned into two extra hours of work.

There’s another subtle effect going on too. AI also expands what workers feel capable of doing, which often expands expectations too. If AI can help you build a better workflow, write a smarter script, or improve a project the temptation is to keep pushing things further…and further…and further.

Downey says perfectionism can become a trap. “The next best thing is possible, so, often, you end up spending more time writing the perfect workflow and telling AI what to do,” he said.

Abandoning AI is not the fix

Researchers say the problem isn’t AI itself but how people are layering it on top of existing workloads. Instead of replacing work, the technology sometimes just expands it.

And companies are starting to realize that if workers are constantly supervising multiple AI tools, productivity gains can quickly turn into cognitive overload. According to the study, workers experienced less mental fatigue when managers structured AI use intentionally rather than letting employees juggle tools on their own.

So, workers and companies may just need to rethink how these tools fit into daily workflows and be more intentional with them.

Source: CBS News