Learn how to effectively incorporate artificial intelligence into your professional journey at every step.

According to Forbes, artificial intelligence has the ability to increase the speed of work for employees. However, relying too heavily on this technology could hinder the development of professional judgment for some workers, potentially limiting their career growth. Nirit Cohen, a workplace strategist, has explored this issue and has outlined different approaches for workers at various stages in their careers.

For experienced professionals, AI can be a valuable tool to automate tasks they are already familiar with. This allows them to apply their years of experience and institutional knowledge to the results. They are also more likely to recognize when an AI-generated response is accurate, but not entirely practical or suitable for their organization's needs.

On the other hand, early-career professionals may face a different challenge. By relying solely on AI to complete their tasks, they may miss out on valuable opportunities to learn and build expertise through mistakes, feedback, and hands-on experience. This distinction is supported by research from Harvard Business School.

In a study of 78 workers, researchers compared the performance of web analysts and marketing and technology professionals using AI for unfamiliar tasks. While AI did help all groups complete work faster, it did not eliminate the expertise gap. Marketing professionals, whose existing skills were more closely related to the assigned tasks, performed almost as well as web analysts.

However, technology specialists, whose expertise was further removed from the task, continued to lag despite having access to AI. This difference in performance was attributed to the "knowledge distance," or the gap between a worker's skills and the skills required for a particular task. For early-career workers, Cohen suggests focusing on understanding the AI-assisted recommendations rather than just producing polished results.

They should be able to explain the recommendation, identify its underlying assumptions, and defend their work without relying on the tool for help. This will help them develop a deeper understanding of the technology and its applications. For experienced professionals, it is important to consider what their role is after delegating work to AI.

Rather than simply approving the output, they should reflect on the judgment they are contributing and how it is being used to enhance the work. As Cohen puts it, "AI can speed up execution, but your job is to make sure it is also accelerating your expertise rather than replacing it." In other news, a recent study found that 24% of AI-generated job interviews occur after hours. This highlights the growing presence of AI in the hiring process and its potential impact on work-life balance.