The AI Paradox: Using It at Work, Resisting It at Home

kundlasarah
4 days ago
8 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

I find myself at an interesting crossroads these days.

When I sit down to think of a new topic to write about, I find myself resisting the idea of asking AI for help. When I'm reflecting on something that I've read, I prefer to capture my own thoughts first. I recently picked up writing alongside reading so that I can record thoughts and reflections in real-time as I go through books (a habit I didn’t have prior to the wide-spread adoption of AI, interestingly enough).

I've started protecting certain activities in my personal life, leaning more towards an analog approach. Yet when it comes to my work, I still find myself reaching for tools like Perplexity to do deeper research, or Notebook LM to turn my reading notes into podcasts to help reinforce what I’ve learned. There’s a deepening rift growing between my usage of AI versus my desire to resist “offloading” any thinking to it.

As it turns out, I'm not alone in this tension. There's a widening gap emerging between how people are starting to reject AI in their personal lives versus having to use these tools professionally. And for many of us (myself included) that gap is becoming harder to navigate.

A Story of Acceleration: By the Numbers

Recent data from Gallup reveals interesting workplace trends related to AI usage. While nearly half of U.S. employees now use AI at some point during their workday, the real story isn't about who's using it. It's about how deeply those who've adopted it are integrating it into their daily routines.

Over the past two and a half years, we've watched a steady climb. In Q2 2023, only 28% of workers reported any AI use. By Q4 2025, that number reached 49%. While total adoption has seemingly plateaued, frequent use of AI is rising slowly yet steadily. In other words, those already using AI are gradually starting to use it more and more.

*The acceleration isn't in who uses AI, but how often they use it. Frequent and daily usage continues to climb even as total adoption plateaus. Data source: Gallup, 2025.*

We’ve all heard of the “AI Bubble” we’re currently floating in. In the modern-day landscape of white-collar jobs in America, many companies have formalized AI adoption in their corporate structure by baking it directly into their leadership hierarchy. This trickle-down effect reveals who's driving the acceleration of AI adoption from the top and who's feeling the pressure from the bottom to keep up.

By Q4 2025, 69% of leaders reported using AI regularly, compared to 55% of managers and just 40% of individual contributors. The gap is even more pronounced when it comes to frequent use: 44% of leaders use AI multiple times per week, while only 23% of individual contributors do the same.

*Leaders who set workplace expectations use AI at significantly higher rates than the employees expected to follow their lead. Data source: Gallup, 2025.*

The takeaway here: the people making decisions about AI adoption are the ones using it most. They're setting expectations based on their own experience with these tools. When a leader discovers they can complete a task in half the time using AI, that efficiency gain becomes the new baseline, and everyone else is now expected to match it.

Meanwhile, A Counter-Movement Is Growing

While we’re seeing workplace AI usage climb, we’re simultaneously seeing other generations becoming more skeptical of AI in their personal lives.

A 2024 study found that Gen Z adults aged 18-24 are the most skeptical generation when it comes to AI on their personal devices, with higher percentages not wanting AI on their phones compared to older adults. Despite being the most digitally fluent, 62% of Gen Z express caution around using AI, particularly around privacy, authenticity, and job security.

Gen Z grew up with technology. Their familiarity with it exceeds other generations (I say this as a Millennial, recognizing that the digital modernization wave didn’t encompass my entire childhood). I remember the days when playing outside with random neighborhood friends until darkness blanketed the sky above our heads - and with no parental oversight - was very much the norm. The childhood experience of Gen Z, on the other hand, has been greatly sculpted by the technology of their day, particularly in their teenage years.

They've had front-row seats to societal changes in the digital-first age: watching social media damage mental health, witnessing data breach after data breach, observing rising environmental concerns around data centers, and recognizing how algorithms prioritize profit over people. They're approaching AI with the caution that comes from first-hand experience, which Deloitte's 2025 global survey confirms, finding that younger workers remain wary of generative AI's impact, including concerns about job displacement and misinformation.

The tension is real and growing. There’s data showing heavier AI use happening today, alongside rising distrust of the tools. As companies require their employees to further increase their AI adoption (lest they fall behind and lose their competitive edge in the workplace), this is intensifying the resistance to AI’s spread into people’s personal lives.

The Cognitive Cost of Convenience

The resistance to AI in one’s personal life isn't just about personal preference. Research from Psychology Today shows that heavy AI use correlates with weakened critical thinking abilities, something now being referred to as "cognitive offloading."

Put succinctly, when we delegate too much thinking to AI, the neural pathways responsible for analysis and evaluation get less exercise. Just like how our muscles can atrophy from disuse, our capacity for independent reasoning can diminish when we rely too heavily on AI to do the thinking for us.

One study found that students who frequently used AI showed lower scores on critical thinking assessments, particularly among younger participants who exhibited a greater reliance on the tools. We’ve all seen the 'Google effect' happen as well, where now the AI summary appears at the top of our search results. Whereas previous “Googling” required us to evaluate credible sources for ourselves and scrutinize the information, today's AI delivers pre-packaged insights to us that require no mental participation.

But Work Is Different... Right?

As these tools become more integrated into our workflows, they also become part of the structural systems designed to influence human behavior. Case in point: Microsoft Surface laptops now come with a dedicated ‘Copilot’ button on the keyboard itself - a physical manifestation of how deeply AI is being embedded into our daily life.

Ethan Mollick writes in his book Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI that one key principle for achieving success with AI is understanding that the current version you're using is the worst one you'll ever use. In other words, more powerful models are always coming. The implication made here is clear: stay ahead of the ever-changing curve or get left behind.

This creates a competitive dynamic that's tough to ignore in the workplace. It's embedded in the tools we're given, the processes we follow, and the expectations set for roles. The question isn’t about how one can use AI less at work, as an opt-out option isn’t always there. The real question is: how can it be used more thoughtfully (when we do have to use it) without dulling our own skills in the process?

Finding Balance in the “AI Bubble”

Admittedly, this isn’t easy. How do we navigate a world where work demands AI proficiency while our personal instincts pull us toward more human ways of thinking and creating? Being a hobby painter/artist myself, this question tugs at the fabric of my values more than most.

I don't have a perfect answer here. But I have been experimenting lately with some approaches that feel more doable than either “fully embrace AI” or “total resistance,” which may not be sustainable for everyone, depending on the kind of work they do.

It begins with setting up some boundaries and clarifying your own goals first.

1. Create AI-free zones for deep thinking.

Designate specific activities where you commit to working without AI. For me, that means doing more reflective writing - hence, my recently adopted habit of journaling alongside the book I’m reading. For you, it might be reinforcement of new skills or concepts that you’re learning. Whenever we absorb new information, our brain remembers it better when we teach it to someone else. Why not choose a person to speak to in your circle and have a discussion around whatever your end goal is? Whatever your desired outcome, try creating intentional practices that’ll keep your cognitive muscles engaged (and strengthening your relationships with others is an added bonus, too).

2. Be deliberate about what you delegate to AI and what you choose to keep for yourself.

When AI must be used for work, frame it as a tool for refining your thinking, rather than generating it from scratch. For example, if you’re having trouble seeing the different angles of a situation, you can have it point out the gaps in your logic or check your bias (check out some of my previous blog posts for such examples). At the same time, consider the people around you who also have the natural talent of strategic-thinking and analytical problem-solving. What’s stopping you from starting with those conversations?

3. When you need to use AI, compare the outputs with your own judgment.

Next time you need to strategize using AI tools at work, form your own hypothesis first. Then see how the AI's response compares to yours. This practice can help you develop a clearer sense of where AI adds value and where it tends to fall short. Not to mention, it also keeps you in the habit of independent analysis, which is a critical skill to keep sharp (nowadays more than ever).

The Bigger Question

The widening gap between workplace AI adoption and personal AI resistance points to something larger. Many are feeling caught between professional necessity and personal values.

This isn't an issue we can solve for easily. The pressure to use AI at work comes from organizational decisions, industry standards, and competitive dynamics beyond our control. However, we do have agency in how we respond to it.

Firstly, we can push back against the assumption that “faster always means better.” Granted, in the workplace, time is indeed money, and there’s data to back up how AI can accelerate progress (and thus profit) for a business. Consider some of the common trade-offs, though - fewer interactions between colleagues during problem-solving, as each person turns first to their "Copilot chat" before engaging with teammates. This can weaken team building and negotiation skills.

When a workplace culture begins to promote individual proficiency (in this case, with a particular tool like AI) above collaborative skills - such as "Yes, and-ing" others' ideas or communicating productively with those you disagree with - we lose the very interactions that help build resilience and interpersonal skills.

When it comes to our personal lives, we can make space for the kind of thinking that AI can't replicate. The slow, uncertain work of figuring things out for ourselves. The process of wrestling with difficult questions for some time as we work things out gradually yet methodically. I felt that author Oliver Burkeman captured this idea perfectly in his book Four Thousand Weeks on page 180 (highly recommend reading this book, by the way):

"Develop a taste for having problems."

In other words, resist the urge to snap towards a solution simply because being in a temporary state of ambiguity is hard to tolerate. This is where the skill of resilience is built up, after all. What does it say about our resilience when we can't tolerate a 5-minute conversation with another person and instead jump to AI for an instant answer? An answer that could be skewed, since these tools are often biased to constantly validate our beliefs.

Your Turn

Where do you find yourself in this gap? Are there moments at work where you feel the pressure to use tools you're intentionally not using in your personal life?

The conversation about AI often focuses on capabilities and competition, but maybe the more important conversation is about autonomy and values. The most human thing we can do right now is choose how we engage with these tools, whether we have to use them for work or choose to avoid engaging with them entirely in our personal life. This choice, more than any efficiency gain, is what will shape the future of our work and the quality of our thinking as a society.