About this episode

The episode discusses studies showing that AI intensifies workloads rather than reducing them.

TMK thought validated yet again! We talk about two big studies into the effects of AI on workloads, which show with in-depth empirical detail how AI intensifies and expands labor, rather than lightens and shrinks workloads. Weird! Did anybody know this would happen??? ••• TMK live show in San Francisco, 7pm on Thursday, March 19th, with our friends at Bay Area Current and DSA SF. Join us! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/decoding-the-tech-vibe-shift-a-night-of-left-wing-tech-criticism-tickets-1984745130112 ••• AI Isn’t Lightening Workloads. It’s Making Them More Intense. https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-isnt-lightening-workloads-its-making-them-more-intense-e417dd2c ••• AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It https://hbr.org/2026/02/ai-doesnt-reduce-work-it-intensifies-it Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite ••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble ••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jathan Sadowski, Edward Ongweso Jr.

Topics covered

• AI and workloads
• labor intensity
• technology criticism
• live events
• empirical studies

Keywords

• AI
• workload
• labor
• intensity
• technology
• studies
• criticism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bay Area Current, DSA SF, Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review

Products: The Mechanic and the Luddite

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