Harvard Business Review

AI Slop: Fixing the Productivity Paradox at Work

Labor Day starts with $70+ in savings on Coursera Plus. Save 40% for 3 months.

Harvard Business Review

AI Slop: Fixing the Productivity Paradox at Work

Included with Coursera PlusLearn more

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Recently updated!

August 2026

Assessments

4 assignments

Taught in English

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

 logos of Petrobras, TATA, Danone, Capgemini, P&G and L'Oreal

There are 4 modules in this course

Generative AI makes individual tasks faster, but that speed often creates more work overall, bigger scope, blurred boundaries between work and rest, and a heavier cognitive load, even as output looks more productive. This module unpacks the AI productivity paradox and gives you a concrete practice for using AI without falling into it.

What's included

3 videos12 readings1 assignment

Not all AI-generated content is workslop, but enough of it is that four specific costs are quietly accumulating across organizations: polished-but-incomplete output, downstream cleanup work, coordination overhead, and eroding critical thinking. This module names those costs precisely and gives leaders five concrete principles for reducing them.

What's included

1 video8 readings1 assignment

The difference between a productive AI workflow and a poor one isn't how much a person is involved, it's when their judgment enters the process. This module gives you a concrete framework, framing, evaluation, verification, for designing workflows where human judgment leads and AI assists, not the reverse.

What's included

1 video10 readings1 assignment

As AI takes over more of the routine coordination work, the judgment that used to develop naturally through that work is at risk of disappearing — right as leaders need it more, not less. This module covers the five forms of professional judgment every leader needs, and how to deliberately rebuild the conditions that develop them in a team increasingly mediated by AI.

What's included

4 videos16 readings1 assignment

Instructor

Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review
24 Courses22,570 learners

Offered by

Why people choose Coursera for their career

Felipe M.

Learner since 2018
"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."

Jennifer J.

Learner since 2020
"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."

Larry W.

Learner since 2021
"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."

Chaitanya A.

"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."

Frequently asked questions