New report shatters widespread assumption about AI in the workplace: 'It's a compelling story'

At the moment, it often feels like the proverbial "two types of people" are boosters and skeptics when it comes to artificial intelligence, and a recent Fortune article strengthened the latter's case.

What's happening?

It's been a few years since ChatGPT debuted in November 2022, and the tech industry has seen AI investment increase exponentially.

In the intervening years, AI has advanced across various areas of daily life, and a Fortune profile of an ActivTrak Productivity Lab report casts further doubt on AI's workplace promise.

ActivTrak is a firm focused on workplace analytics, "committed to challenging workplace assumptions," and in its 2026 State of the Workplace report, it opened with a blunt salvo: "AI isn't replacing work. It's amplifying it."

ActivTrak stated that the data was "unambiguous" regarding AI integration, as workers spent between 27% and 346% more time on their existing tasks because of AI.

"The prevailing assumption about AI and modern work is that both make the workday lighter. Shorter. More manageable," the report read in part.

"It's a compelling story. It's also not what the behavioral data shows."

Why is this concerning?

In schools and at work, AI integration has been a rocky journey, to say the least.

Research has shown "deskilling," or loss of acquired knowledge and skills due to AI reliance, can happen at a terrifyingly rapid clip.

Hundreds of billions of dollars in AI investment have prompted concerns about a possible economic crash, and case studies like ActivTrak's only fueled those credible fears.

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As Americans deal with longer workdays created by AI integration and wade through a job market crowded by agentic AI, a nationwide controversy over data centers hums in the background.

AI is incredibly resource-hungry, particularly for water and power. While water scarcity has been an issue near several data centers and proposed facilities, the energy side of the equation was impossible to ignore.

As 2025 wore on, households across the country began receiving electric bills that were three or four times higher than in previous billing periods — a nationwide issue attributed overwhelmingly to data centers' immense energy demand.

While high energy bills were an immediate concern, one that left nearly one in five Americans past due and at risk of shut-offs, the Department of Energy quietly warned that without significant new capacity, higher energy demand meant more frequent blackouts.  

What's being done about it?

ActivTrak reported on "AI brain fry," a form of cognitive fatigue associated with AI tools, suggesting that workers might be reaching their limits with the technology.

As for the general public, AI hype has significantly cooled, particularly for people living near proposed data centers.

In 2025, data center cancellations quadrupled as communities came out in force to halt their construction.

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