Nearly two-thirds of knowledge workers say they regularly feel nostalgic for how work operated before the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, according to a report from IT consultancy Adaptavist.
Sixty-five percent of respondents reported nostalgia for pre-AI work. Gen Z workers were the most likely to say they prefer the pre-AI world, at 42%, compared with 26% of Gen X workers. Thirty-one percent said they would prefer to remove AI because it reduces human creativity.
The report describes what it calls a “verification tax.” Forty-two percent of workers said they spend more time verifying AI output than they save by using it, and 52% said they regularly correct AI-generated work from colleagues. Fifty-five percent said AI-generated content reduces overall team efficiency, and 49% said poor-quality output slows down projects.
Half of workers said their performance is now directly or indirectly compared with AI-generated output. Thirty-six percent said they often do not understand why they are expected to use AI in their role, and the same share reported AI fatigue leading to reduced use of the tools.
More than half of respondents, 54%, said they are concerned AI could reduce the need for their role within five years. C-level executives showed the highest level of concern at 29%, followed by junior employees at 23%, mid-level employees at 13% and senior employees at 12%.
One in three workers said they are considering changing industries because of AI, rising to 46% among C-level executives and 36% among directors. Thirty-four percent said AI has made them consider retiring earlier than planned, and 47% of C-level executives said they are contemplating stepping away entirely.
Sentiment toward AI itself remained largely favorable. Sixty-seven percent of workers said they would like their organization to increase AI use, 69% said they trust AI is being used ethically by their employer, and 60% said they have received adequate training or support. Seventy-four percent said they are actively learning new skills to stay relevant, rising to 85% among C-level leaders.
“Transparency is critical to truly drive AI engagement,” Jobin Kuruvilla, field CTO at Adaptavist, said in the report.
