Stanford study: Workers want AI for boring tasks, not complex work

A new Stanford University study reveals that professionals are willing to embrace AI agents in the workplace, but primarily for automating mundane, low-stakes tasks rather than more complex work. The research, which surveyed 1,500 professionals and AI experts, provides crucial insights into how human-AI collaboration might actually unfold in practice, challenging some of the more ambitious promises made by tech companies about AI agent capabilities.

What you should know: The study created the AI Agent Worker Outlook & Readiness Knowledge Bank (WORKBank), showing workers want to retain significant control over their work even when AI could handle more tasks.

• Workers are ready to automate repetitive, low-stakes tasks “even after reflecting on potential job loss concerns and work enjoyment,” according to the researchers.
• There are “critical mismatches” between what AI agents are being deployed to do—like software development and business analysis—and what workers actually want automated.
• Using their Human Agency Scale (HAS), researchers found “that workers generally prefer higher levels of human agency than what experts deem technologically necessary.”

Why this matters: The findings suggest potential “friction” as AI becomes more powerful and ubiquitous, since workers want more control than technology might require.

• The research moves beyond typical AI hype to examine practical integration of AI agents into daily professional routines.
• Unlike previous studies focused on specific job categories, this research analyzed individual task categories to “better capture the nuanced, open-ended, and contextual nature of real-world work.”

The big picture: AI automation is reshaping which human skills are most valued in the workplace.

• Information-processing and analysis skills are becoming less valuable as machines grow more competent in these areas.
• Interpersonal skills, particularly “assisting and caring for others,” are becoming increasingly important.
• Workers hope AI will free them to focus on “more engaging and important tasks,” echoing tech companies’ marketing messages about eliminating workplace drudgery.

What they’re saying: The study’s worker-centric approach revealed preferences that don’t always align with current AI development priorities.

• Respondents expressed willingness to automate routine work while maintaining agency over more meaningful tasks.
• The research highlights how “the effects of AI automation will vary widely depending on the nature of the work,” reinforcing findings from previous studies.