Bangladesh, Sept. 2 -- US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and many prominent economists believe artificial intelligence will deliver a major boost to labor productivity. The optimism is understandable. Throughout modern economic history, transformative technologies have changed how people work, communicate and create wealth.

But there is a danger in assuming that every powerful technology automatically makes workers more productive.

The opposite could happen with artificial intelligence.

As AI becomes embedded in everyday work, its widespread use may not necessarily increase output per worker. In some cases, it could reduce productivity by forcing people to spend more time checking, correcting and managing machine-generated informati...