AI Raises Cognitive Intensity

Automating routine tasks with AI tends to reallocate worker time into longer stretches of high‑cognitive work (analysis, synthesis, decision‑making), producing short‑term productivity gains but raising burnout risk and lowering end‑of‑week effectiveness. Employers therefore need to redesign rhythms (scheduled low‑intensity slots, mandated breaks, four‑day weeks), document change‑management costs, and measure net output rather than gross tasks completed. — This reframes AI adoption as a labor‑design and regulatory issue, not just a productivity story, with implications for work‑time policy, occupational health standards, and corporate disclosure of AI adoption effects.