The mental fog and decision paralysis that come from overseeing too many AI tools at once. Coined by researchers at Boston Consulting Group in a January 2026 study of 1,488 U.S. workers. The culprits are AI oversight and workload creep. The sweet spot for parallel tools is three, after that, self-reported productivity drops.

Bedard, Julie et al. (2026): When Using AI Leads to “Brain Fry”