AI doesn't get stressed, tired, or have a bad day at work — and it's raising the bar for everyone else

As artificial intelligence continues to integrate into various sectors, it is significantly altering the benchmarks for employee performance. Svetlana Makarova, an expert in AI product management at IKS Health and previously at the Mayo Clinic, highlights this trend, noting that customer expectations are increasingly influenced by AI's reliability. She refers to this phenomenon as a 'humanity discount,' where inherent human characteristics such as variability and emotion are viewed as drawbacks in the workplace. Makarova asserts that employees are now held to higher standards of productivity, patience, and availability, as AI systems do not experience fatigue or bad days. This shift towards demanding more from human workers is not solely due to AI; it has been a gradual process influenced by decades of job optimization and standardization. Companies have long been breaking tasks into repeatable segments, making automation more feasible. With AI's capability to mimic structured workflows—ranging from customer service interactions to report creation—its presence is becoming more pronounced, particularly in industries like sales, legal, and research. However, the rise of emotionally intelligent AI is also subtly shifting how we assess human interactions. Makarova points out that as we engage with AI that exhibits emotional responsiveness, our expectations of human behavior may unintentionally lower. This evolving landscape places additional pressure on knowledge workers, who now find themselves juggling increased demands alongside the benefits of AI-enhanced productivity. To remain relevant, Makarova advises professionals to concentrate on skills that AI cannot easily replicate, such as decision-making in ambiguous situations and navigating complex social interactions. As anxiety grows among workers regarding AI's potential to replace them, Makarova poses a critical question: how much of their work can genuinely be categorized as following a pre-established process? If the answer suggests that a significant portion of their tasks is scripted, then automation may be on the horizon, marking a new phase in the evolution of work.