AI can save time, but experts warned that relying on it without critical thinking could weaken essential workplace skills.
Image: AI
Artificial intelligence has become a fixture in many workplaces, helping employees draft documents, conduct research, summarise meetings and automate routine tasks.
However, experts cautioned that using AI more frequently does not necessarily translate into higher productivity.
Ziyanda Gxuma, Scrum Master at Strider Digital, said organisations and employees should shift their focus from how often they use AI to whether it is genuinely improving the quality and efficiency of their work.
"Using a tool daily does not necessarily mean you're being productive," Gxuma said.
"It's easy to measure frequency by counting how many prompts you enter each day but productivity is much harder to measure."
She said the greatest value of AI lies in removing repetitive administrative work, allowing professionals to spend more time collaborating, solving complex problems and applying their expertise.
According to Gxuma, one of the biggest misconceptions about artificial intelligence is that it automatically saves time.
She explained that producing useful AI generated content often requires multiple rounds of prompting, reviewing and refining before it becomes fit for purpose.
"People who've been using AI tools more and more frequently quickly realise that outputs need to be corrected often and prompts need to improve as you work towards the right result," she said.
"This process can take minutes or even hours, meaning it sometimes takes longer than just completing the task on your own."
Gxuma stressed that AI should never be accepted at face value.
She said the technology can misunderstand prompts or generate inaccurate information, making human knowledge, experience and contextual understanding essential for producing reliable results.
Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for human expertise, she encouraged professionals to treat it as a collaborative partner.
"I use AI as a research assistant and sometimes as a critic of work I've already produced to help identify gaps I may have not considered," Gxuma said.
"I've also found that the best use of these tools isn't asking for answers but rather learning how to ask better questions."
She acknowledged that writing effective prompts and evaluating AI generated responses can interrupt workflows, but argued that this process is necessary to ensure accuracy and relevance.
In collaborative workplaces, context becomes even more important.
Gxuma explained that asking AI to generate recommendations without sufficient background information could result in suggestions that are difficult to justify or unsuitable for the situation.
She believes critical thinking remains one of the most valuable skills in an AI enabled workplace.
"Again, you need to evaluate the accuracy of the information AI provides, consider your own context and challenge any assumptions it has made," she said.
"AI isn't here to replace human thinking, it's here to enhance it by acting as a sounding board and creative partner in a human led conversation."
Gxuma also warned that excessive dependence on AI could gradually erode essential professional skills if employees stop practising them independently.
"Heavy reliance on AI can weaken skills like writing, analysis and problem solving if we stop practising them ourselves but interestingly it can also have the opposite effect if used properly," she said.
Drawing on her own experience, she explained that using AI to assist with sprint goals unexpectedly helped her rediscover writing skills from an earlier stage of her career, as reviewing AI generated content required greater attention to language, structure and tone.
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into the workplace, Gxuma believes the most successful professionals will be those who combine AI capabilities with sound judgement and human expertise.
"The differentiator, in the end, will be good judgement. The strongest users will know when to use AI, when not to, how to verify outputs, how to provide context and how to combine AI assistance with human expertise," Gxuma said.
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