In this episode of Workplace Economies, hosts Jon Kent and AJ (Adam) dig into a concept Jon has coined the AI review tax, the hidden workload burden created when AI-generated output bypasses proper review and lands on the desks of already stretched senior employees. Drawing on original research and a companion article published on Workplace Economies, they examine how the widespread removal of junior roles, often justified as an AI-enabled efficiency gain, is in fact destabilising the very workflow structures that make organisations productive. Far from reducing the burden on experienced staff, they argue, the indiscriminate adoption of AI tools is concentrating unmanageable review work at the top of the org chart, fuelling stress, poor decision-making and burnout.
The conversation broadens into wider territory: the collapse of the junior talent pipeline, the self-defeating logic of exponential growth culture, the limits of AI as a substitute for human context and judgement, and the emerging figure of the solopreneur; empowered and ultimately overwhelmed by AI productivity tools. Jon and AJ bring genuine founder perspectives to the debate, drawing on their own experiences building software products, and conclude with a characteristically direct assertion: nothing fundamental has changed in how good work gets done. Organisations that understand this and keep humans meaningfully in the loop at every stage, will outlast those racing to automate their way to the finish line.
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