Unveiling Workslop: The AI-Generated Work That’s Draining Productivity in 95% of Organizations

A collaborative study by BetterUp Labs and Stanford Social Media Lab has introduced a novel term to denote subpar work generated by artificial intelligence (AI) – ‘workslop’. As explained in a recent article published in the Harvard Business Review, workslop refers to AI-generated content that appears credible but lacks substance necessary for meaningful progress on tasks.

According to the study, the prevalence of workslop might be one reason behind the 95% of organizations that have employed AI yet report no significant return on their investment. Workslop, as the researchers suggest, can be riddled with inaccuracies, omissions, or a lack of essential context, thereby increasing the workload for others.

The researchers further highlighted that the pervasive effect of workslop is its tendency to transfer the responsibility of rectifying errors downstream, forcing recipients to interpret, amend, or redo the work.

In an ongoing survey of 1,150 full-time U.S.-based employees, it was found that 40% had encountered workslop within the past month. To mitigate this issue, the researchers advocate for responsible AI utilization in the workplace, emphasizing purpose and intent, and establishing clear guidelines and norms for team usage.