Based on insights from more than 100 builders, executives, investors, advisors, and researchers from across the globe. by Rebecca Hinds and Robert I. Sutton
December 10, 2025
Illustration by Chen Wu
When Polish endoscopists began using AI to detect cancer, their accuracy improved. But their performance on non-AI procedures got worse. When students used AI to draft SAT-style essays, their creativity initially spiked. Yet those who started with AI-generated ideas showed reduced alpha-wave activity (a marker of creative flow), “tended to converge on common words and ideas,” and their “output was very, very similar” to one another’s. And in a 2025 study spanning 20 European countries, workers in highly automated jobs reported less purpose, less control, and more stress, even when their work became technically easier.