The more AI tools you use, the more productive you get. Right? 

Not exactly. Boston Consulting Group leader Gabriella Rosen Kellerman studied what actually happens to people who are using AI intensively at work, and what she found is that beyond a certain point, something breaks. Not burnout. Something different, something the existing research wasn't equipped to explain, and something that organisations are currently making worse without realising it. 

In this episode, I sit down with Gabriella to unpack AI Brain Fry: what it is, who is most at risk, and why the sweet spot for productivity might be far fewer tools than you think. We also get into what managers are doing, often unknowingly, that adds 15% more mental fatigue to their teams, and the one cultural message that does more to protect employees than any AI policy. 

If you have ever ended the day feeling strangely depleted despite not having done anything physically tiring, this episode will name what's happening and tell you what to do about it. 

Gabriella and I discuss: 
What AI Brain Fry is and why it sits outside the existing burnout literature 
Which roles are showing the highest rates of brain fry and what that signals about AI oversight work more broadly 
The productivity cliff: why two to three AI tools is the sweet spot, and what happens to output beyond that 
What the most sophisticated AI users do differently to the people with 25 browser tabs open 
The two manager behaviours that either cut mental fatigue by 15% or actually increase it 
Why some common organisational messages about AI are making employees more vulnerable to fatigue, not less 
The 10/20/70 rule that most organisations are skipping entirely in their AI rollouts 
How to do an informal audit of whether your team is currently suffering from brain fry 

Key quotes 

"The goal is to develop acute self-awareness of our own intelligence as we come to meet this new alien intelligence." 

"AI is completely changing the psychology and behaviour of work. Brain Fry is a proof point of that." 

 

Connect with Gabriella Rosen Kellerman on LinkedIn and her website, and check out her research and writing at Harvard Business Review. 

If you enjoyed this chat with Gabriella, I think you'd also love the first time she came on How I Work, where we talked all about thriving in times of uncertainty. You can find that episode here. 

 

My latest book The Energy Game is out on July 7, 2026. You can order a copy here: https://amzn.to/48ID29M 

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber) 

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai) 

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe 

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes. 

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au 

Credits: Host: Amantha Imber Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler 

The more AI tools you use, the more productive you get.&nbsp;Right?&nbsp;
Not exactly.&nbsp;Boston Consulting Group&nbsp;leader&nbsp;Gabriella Rosen Kellerman&nbsp;studied what actually happens to people who are using AI intensively at work, and what she found is that beyond a certain point, something breaks.&nbsp;Not burnout. Something different, something the existing research&nbsp;wasn't&nbsp;equipped to explain, and something that&nbsp;organisations&nbsp;are currently making worse without&nbsp;realising&nbsp;it.&nbsp;
In this episode, I sit down with Gabriella to unpack AI Brain Fry: what it is, who is most at risk, and why the sweet spot for productivity might be far fewer tools than you think. We also get into what managers are doing, often unknowingly, that adds 15% more mental fatigue to their teams, and the one cultural message that does more to protect employees than any AI policy.&nbsp;
If you have ever ended the day feeling strangely depleted despite not having done anything physically tiring, this episode will name&nbsp;what's&nbsp;happening and tell you what to do about it.&nbsp;
Gabriella and I discuss:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">What AI Brain Fry is and why it sits outside the existing burnout literature&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">Which roles&nbsp;are showing the highest rates of brain fry and what that signals about AI oversight work more broadly&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">The productivity cliff: why two to three AI tools is the sweet spot, and what happens to output beyond that&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1">What the most sophisticated AI users do differently to the people with 25 browser tabs open&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="1">The two manager&nbsp;behaviours&nbsp;that either cut mental fatigue by 15% or&nbsp;actually&nbsp;increase&nbsp;it&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="1">Why some common&nbsp;organisational&nbsp;messages about AI are making employees more vulnerable to fatigue, not less&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="1">The 10/20/70 rule that most&nbsp;organisations&nbsp;are skipping entirely in their AI rollouts&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-setsize="-1" data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="8" data-aria-level="1">How to do an informal audit of whether your team is currently suffering from brain fry&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Key quotes&nbsp;
"The goal is to develop acute self-awareness of our own intelligence as we come to meet this new alien intelligence."&nbsp;
"AI is completely changing the psychology and&nbsp;behaviour&nbsp;of work. Brain Fry is a proof point of that."&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Connect with Gabriella Rosen&nbsp;Kellerman&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/grkellerman/">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;and her&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gabriellarosenkellerman.com/">website</a>, and check out her research and writing at&nbsp;<a href="https://hbr.org/webinar/2026/02/the-productivity-cost-of-ai">Harvard Business Review</a>.&nbsp;
If you enjoyed this chat with Gabriella, I think&nbsp;you'd&nbsp;also love the first time she came&nbsp;on&nbsp;How I Work, where we talked all about thriving in times of uncertainty. You can find that episode&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amantha.com/podcasts/want-to-thrive-in-uncertain-times">here</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
My latest&nbsp;book The&nbsp;Energy Game&nbsp;is out&nbsp;on July 7, 2026. You can order a copy here:&nbsp;<a href="https://amzn.to/48ID29M">https://amzn.to/48ID29M</a>&nbsp;
Connect with me on the socials:&nbsp;Linkedin&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber">https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber</a>)&nbsp;
Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/amanthai">https://www.instagram.com/amanthai</a>)&nbsp;
If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and&nbsp;simple to apply&nbsp;tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at&nbsp;<a href="https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe">https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe</a>&nbsp;
Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amantha.com/podcast">https://www.amantha.com/podcast</a>&nbsp;for full show notes from all episodes.&nbsp;
Get in touch at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:amantha@inventium.com.au">amantha@inventium.com.au</a>&nbsp;
Credits: Host: Amantha Imber Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler&nbsp;

You know those annoyingly successful people who seem to have it all figured out? Time to steal their playbook. Organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber gets world‑class achievers to spill their secrets - the daily strategies behind their success through to life hacks and productivity hacks they’d rather keep to themselves. We’re talking practical tips for boosting your output (including clever AI tools and shortcuts that’ll make you look like a genius), managing overwhelm without losing your mind, and optimising both work and wellbeing. No motivational fluff. Just battle‑tested tactics from people who’ve cracked the code.

You know those annoyingly successful people who seem to have it all figured out? Time to steal their playbook. Organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber gets world‑class achievers to spill their secrets&nbsp;- the daily strategies behind their success through to&nbsp;life hacks and productivity hacks they&rsquo;d rather keep to themselves. We&rsquo;re talking practical tips for boosting your output (including clever AI tools and shortcuts that&rsquo;ll make you look like a genius), managing overwhelm without losing your mind, and optimising both work and wellbeing. No motivational fluff. Just battle‑tested tactics from people who&rsquo;ve cracked the code.

Have you ever wondered if the worlds leading entrepreneurs, writers, musicians and business people construct their day differently to you?

How I Work

This is what AI is actually doing to your brain, with Gabriella Rosen Kellerman 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/fa326977-3de5-4283-9b8b-af3500c58607/clips/b076e38e-a1db-494b-b0a5-b4330024c61f/transcript