Why Some Early Adopters of AI Are So Stressed (The Busywork Paradox)
AI at Work
We're in the 'time before' of AI
Elijah frames this moment as a pivotal 'time before' and reflects on long-term societal change from AI.
Summary
Elijah and Kevin kick off the new year with a blunt reality check, AI is not just “a tool,” it is reshaping how work feels. They unpack a surprising downside of automation: when AI removes the low stress busywork, people can end up stuck in high stakes decision mode all day. They also break down why “vibe coding” is getting confusing, the difference between developer-grade tools (Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Code) and consumer app builders (Replit, Opal, Lovable). Finally, they dig into the messy middle of apps, connectors, context windows, and why cross-checking outputs across models is becoming a new baseline skill.
Takeaways
Automating “minutiae” can raise stress, you lose the natural recovery moments in your day.
AI transformation is rarely just one department, sales bleeds into ops, finance, and everything else.
Vibe coding now means two things: pro dev tooling vs consumer prompt-to-app tools, and they break differently.
Bigger context windows help, but they also increase drift and confusion unless you add checks and structure.
The new power move is verification: multiple chats, multiple models, and feedback loops, not blind trust.
Chapters
00:00 Intro + New Year banter
01:21 Focus, presence, and productivity intentions
04:07 “The time before”: why this AI moment feels different
05:30 When AI removes busywork, and raises stress
08:30 Why AI adoption can’t live in silos
11:05 Where most organizations really are with AI
13:31 Multitasking with AI: the “stew pot” workflow
16:55 Inconsistent models and building on shifting ground
19:38 Vibe coding: dev tools vs consumer no-code
22:43 Singularity talk and the importance of domain expertise
25:41 GPT apps/connectors: promise vs reality
32:09 A real win: Claude + mobile reminders
39:57 Bigger context windows, same verification risks
48:54 NotebookLM and workflow tools that actually help
57:44 The new pace of work, and what it means going forward
Show Notes & Links: https://www.spark6.com/podcast
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Check out Kevin’s stuff:
Ascend Labs: https://ascendlabs.ai/
Follow Kevin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinguywilliams/
Check out Eli’s Stuff:
SPARK6 Agency: https://www.spark6.com/
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