AI tools let employees generate expert-looking work beyond their expertise, creating new risks for workplace productivity and quality

The article argues that generative AI is changing workplace behavior by enabling employees to produce artifacts that appear sophisticated without matching underlying expertise. It distinguishes between novices accelerating within their field and cross-domain generation, where people create software, data systems, or client-facing work in areas they were never trained to handle.

The bigger risk is not just low-quality AI output, but organizations mistaking polished artifacts for competent work. As AI makes it easier to appear productive, companies may need stronger review processes and clearer accountability to separate real expertise from machine-generated fluency.

Appearing productive in the workplace