Appearing productive in the workplace
AI can produce work that looks expert without being expert. The failure arrives in two shapes, and both are reshaping the workplace.
AI Summary
# Summary
AI tools enable workers to produce work that appears expert without possessing genuine expertise, creating two distinct problems in the workplace. The first occurs when novices generate work resembling senior-level output faster than their judgment allows, while the second—and more dangerous—happens when people use AI to create work in fields they were never trained in, such as non-programmers building software or untrained people designing data systems. This mismatch between appearance and actual competence is reshaping how work is evaluated and completed, often going undetected as AI-generated artifacts are quietly used internally or presented to clients without proper vetting.