Speed ​​versus depth: How does using AI at work affect our trust?

Be careful when delegating your work to this chatbot: new peer review software He studies A study published by the American Psychological Association this month found that people who relied heavily on artificial intelligence tools for work tasks reported feeling less confident in their abilities and had less ownership of their work.

There has been increasing research into how our brains work when we use artificial intelligence tools. A Historical study from MIT In 2025, I found that our brains don’t retain as much information or use the necessary critical thinking skills when writing tasks are outsourced to AI-powered chatbots.

This new study aims to understand how our human behavior, specifically executive functions – such as strategic planning and decision-making – can change when artificial intelligence is part of the process.

Sarah Baldeo, an author of the study and a Ph.D. candidate in artificial intelligence and neuroscience at Middlesex University in England, noted in his research paper that these results do not show that artificial intelligence harms or causes cognitive decline. Instead, it “highlights variation in how users distribute effort between themselves and AI systems under conditions of comfort and efficiency.” That is, people using AI make conscious trade-offs, and their trust fluctuates as a result.

The study encouraged nearly 2,000 adults to use AI for a variety of tasks in the workplace, such as prioritizing projects based on deadlines, explaining strategy and making plans with incomplete information. It then asked them to self-report their levels of trust, ownership, and reliance on the AI, including whether they had significantly changed the output generated by the AI.

Overall, trust varied with the use of AI. Greater reliance on AI was associated with lower confidence in their ability to think independently. Participants also reported relatively few edits, meaning they often did not modify or put their own stamp on what the AI ​​produced. But those who edited the AI’s work reported feeling more confident and more like the author. Men reported greater reliance on AI than women.

The trade-off between speed and depth was one of the main topics talked about by participants.

“I got an answer faster, but I don’t think I thought as deeply as I normally would,” one participant said.

This reflects one of the biggest caveats about using AI tools. For example, chatbots can produce text quickly, but they don’t always have the same level of subject matter expertise you need. AI tools can too Hallucinations, or fabrication of factsTherefore, the outputs generated by artificial intelligence must be verified before using them.

The office is one of the main places where people use AI tools. We’re moving beyond chatbots, with agents that can autonomously handle tasks that used to require a human.

But these tools don’t necessarily make our working lives better; One study found they made workdays Longer and more unpleasant. As AI becomes an integral part of our working lives, it is important to understand how it shapes our mental attitudes. Qualities such as trust and ownership of our work are important factors in determining the quality of our work life.