AI Workslop

Welcome to the Macro AI Podcast with Gary and Scott. In this episode, we dive into one of the newest and most important concepts hitting boardrooms and executive teams: AI Workslop. 

AI Workslop describes polished, AI-generated work that looks good on the surface but lacks the substance, accuracy, or context to drive real decisions. It’s the long memo with no action, the glossy slide deck without insight, the email that shifts the burden onto the reader. And it’s not just annoying — it’s expensive. 

Recent research from Harvard Business Review, BetterUp Labs, and Stanford found that: 

• 40% of desk workers encountered AI Workslop in the last month. 
• Each incident wasted nearly 2 hours. 
• The hidden cost adds up to $186 per employee per month — over $9M annually for a 10,000-person company. 
• Colleagues perceive Workslop senders as less creative, less capable, and less reliable. 

In this episode, Gary and Scott explore: 

• What AI Workslop is — and how it differs from AI hallucinations. 
• Why it happens (old habits, new tools, and cultural pressure). 
• How leaders can spot Workslop before it derails productivity. 
• Why prompting skill matters — and why it’s not the full cure. 
• The Anti-Workslop Playbook: leadership guardrails, workflow templates, training strategies, and metrics. 
• Real-world examples of slop vs. substance in sales, operations, and contact centers. 
• The single KPI executives should watch: time-to-decision. 

AI isn’t the problem. Workslop is. And leaders who build the right norms, culture, and skills will see ROI instead of sludge. 

 

🔗 Resources mentioned in this episode: 

• Harvard Business Review article introducing “AI Workslop” (Sept 2025): https://hbr.org/2025/09/ai-workslop 
• BetterUp Labs research and resources: https://www.betterup.com/resources/research/ai-workslop  
• Stanford Social Media Lab collaboration: https://sml.stanford.edu  

 

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About your AI Guides

Gary Sloper

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsloper/

Scott Bryan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjbryan/

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