Part of an ongoing series exploring how women are experiencing the rise of AI in their work and personal lives.
What Happens When AI Doesn't Help You Work More—But Helps You Work Less?
Much of the conversation around AI focuses on productivity, efficiency, and output. The assumption is that if AI helps us complete tasks faster, we'll simply use that time to do even more work.
But what if the real value of AI isn't producing more?
What if it's reclaiming time?
For many women, professional responsibilities don't end when the workday ends. Emails, grading, planning, administration, caregiving, household responsibilities, and personal commitments often blur the lines between work and life. As a result, free time becomes increasingly difficult to protect.
In this interview, writer, speaker, and professor Sarah Gallucci shares how AI transformed her relationship with work—not by changing what she does, but by helping her stop bringing work home. Her story explores productivity, balance, creativity, education, and why some of the most important parts of being human should remain untouched by AI.
Meet the Interviewee
Sarah Gallucci is a writer, speaker, and college professor based in the United States. Working independently while balancing teaching, writing, and speaking engagements, Sarah has embraced AI as a practical tool for reducing administrative burden and creating more space for both professional growth and personal fulfillment.
Interview
Before AI became widely adopted, how would you describe your work and daily responsibilities?
Before I adopted AI into my work at the college, my work responsibilities and tasks would not be able to be completed during the work day. I was often bringing my work home (responding to emails, grading, and providing feedback) in the evenings when I would have preferred to turn work off and be with my family more presently.
How does AI currently intersect with your work or personal life?
AI intersects with my work and personal life by freeing me from tasks at work- so I’m more productive at work and more relaxed in the evenings and on weekends.
What AI tools, if any, do you regularly use?
Currently, I use Chat Gpt, Claude, Google translate.
Can you describe a specific moment when you realized AI was directly affecting your work, career, or personal life?
There was a week I stopped bringing home grading to do after dinner. It was two weeks into using Chat Gpt prompts for student emails, lesson planning, and feedback that I realized my life-work balance was profoundly going to change. From there, my AI curiosity grew and I used it for resumes, cover letter writing, meal plans, exercise plans and budgeting.
What was your initial reaction? Please explain why you experienced that emotion?
I was excited about AI because I saw the speed of it working- without compromising quality (in many cases, not all).
What has been the biggest positive impact AI has had on your life or work?
Using AI at work has helped me work on passion projects- I’ve done a TEDx talk since using it, published a book (that I wrote before the popularity of AI), ran my first half-marathon and lost over 20 pounds!
What has been the biggest challenge, frustration, or downside?
The downside is being an educator embracing exploration ethically, but seeing young people (my students) being unable to think or write without it.
Has AI changed how you think about your skills, value, creativity, or professional identity?
AI has made me lean more into the human things and cherish them- writing, art, music, nature, and my relationships. Those are areas of my life I don’t allow AI to touch.
Have you ever felt pressure to learn or adapt to AI faster than you were comfortable with?
No, I’ve not felt any pressure to adapt AI- I have gone at my own pace. There are no rules with AI- not really. The playbook for how we used to work is gone. Therefore, I have been able to design my own journey with AI.
Have you experienced any situations where AI created unfairness, bias, exclusion, or unexpected opportunities?
AI is inherently racist and the language it uses reflects that. The sentences (structurally) are bias towards upper class, white English language patterns.
Do you think AI has affected expectations at work (productivity, speed, output, hiring, promotions, etc.)?
For me, productivity and speed were always pressures I have felt as a college professor in higher education. The expectations before AI were unrealistic and remain so, they are also directly at odds with work-life balance and valuing of self care and family time. AI is the bandaid right now for a much larger issue- hustle and grind culture.
What is one thing about AI that most people misunderstand?
It does not make anyone’s writing better- it makes it worse. The friction of the writing process is necessary because without it people wouldn’t go on wonderful tangents, be curious and explore.
What advice would you give other women navigating AI's growing influence in their careers or lives?
Women need to get familiar with using AI, or they will be left behind. They should ask colleagues how they use it, friends and family. It’s a skill likely needed for higher paying jobs, promotions, or entrepreneurship.
Are you more optimistic or more concerned about AI's future impact? Why?
I am an optimist for AI.
Complete this sentence: "AI has changed my life by __________."
Giving me my life back
Final Thoughts
What resonated most with me about Sarah's story is that it challenges one of the most common assumptions about AI. Many people view AI as a productivity tool. Sarah views it as a freedom tool.
The difference matters.
For decades, technology has promised to save us time. Yet somehow, most professionals feel busier than ever. Work expands to fill every available hour, and the boundary between professional and personal life becomes increasingly difficult to maintain.
Sarah's experience offers a different perspective. Instead of using AI to squeeze more work into each day, she used it to reclaim evenings with family, pursue personal goals, publish a book, deliver a TEDx talk, improve her health, and invest time in the parts of life that matter most.
I also appreciated the nuance in her perspective. She's optimistic about AI while remaining thoughtful about its risks. As an educator, she sees both the opportunities and the dangers. She embraces AI's ability to remove administrative friction while defending the importance of critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, and authentic human expression.
Perhaps that's one of the most important lessons emerging from this interview series: the women benefiting most from AI aren't outsourcing their humanity. They're using AI to create more space for it.
As AI continues to evolve, its greatest impact may not be helping women work harder. It may be helping them spend more time on the people, passions, and pursuits that make life meaningful.
Are you a woman using AI in your work, business, studies, or daily life? I'd love to hear your perspective. If AI has changed how you work, create, learn, lead, or think about your future, share your story in the comments. I'm always looking for new voices and would be happy to interview you for a future edition of this series.
