AI Drives Faster Discoveries But Lowers Job Satisfaction, Study Finds
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
Artificial Intelligence is making a big impact on materials science, speeding up discoveries and leading to more patents and new products. A recent study looked at how an AI tool for materials discovery affected a major research lab, showing both exciting benefits and significant challenges.
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Skilled scientists benefit most from AI, prioritizing effective suggestions and avoiding false positives.
- 82% of researchers report lower job satisfaction, citing repetitive tasks and reduced creativity.
- Labs adapt by prioritizing scientists with strong judgment skills in hiring practices.
The study found that AI can greatly increase the rate of materials discovery by automating many idea-generation tasks. This allows scientists to focus on testing the suggestions made by the AI. Analyzing the mechanisms, the researcher found that AI automates 57% of idea-generation tasks, shifting researchers to focus on evaluating AI-generated candidate materials.
However, the success of this technology relies heavily on the skills of the researchers using it. Scientists with strong judgment and expertise quickly learned to prioritize the AI’s best suggestions, while others struggled, wasting time on ideas that didn’t work.
Despite these benefits, the study revealed a major downside: most researchers felt less satisfied with their work. About 82% reported lower job satisfaction, mainly because their tasks became less creative and more repetitive. Many said they felt their skills were underused, and the shift in focus made the work less enjoyable.
These findings challenge the idea that AI will only take over boring tasks, leaving people to focus on more rewarding work. Instead, the study showed that AI is automating some of the most exciting parts of scientific research—like coming up with new ideas.
“I couldn’t help feeling that much of my education is now worthless,” One scientist from the study said, as reported by The Wall Street Journal .
The study also looked at how the lab adapted to the changes AI brought. After seeing how the tool worked, the lab changed its hiring practices to focus on scientists with strong judgment skills. While this helped improve collaboration with the AI, it widened the gap between more and less productive researchers, adding to the dissatisfaction for some.
The author believes AI could help reduce income inequality if workers receive proper training. For instance, a well-trained paralegal using AI could handle tasks typically done by experienced lawyers, potentially earning a higher income.
Without adequate training, however, the situation is “like sending people up in an airplane without putting them in a flight simulator first and telling them, ‘Oh, sorry, you crashed, I guess you’re a bad pilot,’” he explained to The Wall Street Journal.
The findings raise important questions about how AI will affect the future of scientific work. While AI tools can accelerate innovation, they also risk making jobs less engaging if not used carefully.
The study suggests that organizations and policymakers need to find ways to balance these effects—such as offering better training and redesigning roles to keep tasks interesting and rewarding.
Image by Freepik
Cyberattack Hits Legit Chrome Extensions, Exposes Sensitive User Data
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
A coordinated cyberattack compromised at least five Google Chrome extensions , injecting malicious code designed to steal sensitive user information, as reported by Bleeping Computer .
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Cyberhaven disclosed the breach on December 24 after a phishing attack targeted its account.
- Malicious code in Cyberhaven’s extension stole sessions and cookies, sending data to attackers.
- Major companies like Snowflake, Motorola, and Reddit were affected by the breach.
The breach was first disclosed on December 24 by Cyberhaven , a data loss prevention company, which alerted its customers after a phishing attack successfully targeted an administrator account for the Chrome Web Store.
Our team has confirmed a malicious cyberattack that occurred on Christmas Eve, affecting Cyberhaven’s Chrome extension. Here’s our post about the incident and the steps we’re taking: https://t.co/VTBC73eWda Our security team is available 24/7 to assist affected customers and… — Cyberhaven (@CyberhavenInc) December 27, 2024
Bleeping Computer explains that the attack enabled the hacker to hijack the admin’s account and publish a malicious version of the Cyberhaven extension. This version included code that could steal authenticated sessions and cookies, sending them to the attacker’s domain.
Among Cyberhaven’s clients affected by the breach are major companies such as Snowflake, Motorola, Canon, Reddit, and Kirkland & Ellis. Cyberhaven’s internal security team removed the malicious extension within an hour of detection, as reported by Bleeping Computer.
Cyberhaven attributes the attack to a phishing email, stating in a separate technical analysis that the code seemed to be specifically designed to target Facebook Ads accounts.
TechCrunch noted that the Chrome Web Store lists approximately 400,000 corporate users for the Cyberhaven extension. When TechCrunch inquired, Cyberhaven declined to disclose the number of affected customers it had notified about the breach.
In response, a clean version of the extension was published on December 26. Cyberhaven advised its users to upgrade to this latest version and to take additional precautions, such as verifying that the extension has been updated to version 24.10.5 or newer.
Additionally, Cyberhaven advises to revoke and rotate any passwords that do not use FIDOv2, and review your browser logs for any suspicious activity.
Bleeping Computer notes that the incident extended beyond Cyberhaven’s extension, with further investigations revealing that several other Chrome extensions were also affected. Nudge Security researcher Jaime Blasco traced the attack’s origins by analyzing the attacker’s IP addresses and domains.
Regarding the Cyberhaven chrome extension compromise I have reasons to believe there are other extensions affected. Pivoting by the ip address there are more domains created within the same time range resolving to the same ip address as cyberhavenext[.]pro (cont) — Jaime Blasco (@jaimeblascob) December 27, 2024
Blasco confirmed that the malicious code snippet was injected into several extensions around the same time, as reported by Bleeping Computer.
These include Internxt VPN, which has 10,000 users, VPNCity, a privacy-focused VPN service with 50,000 users, Uvoice, a rewards-based service with 40,000 users, and ParrotTalks, a note-taking tool with 40,000 users.
Bleeping Computer says that while Blasco identified additional potential victims, only the extensions listed above have been confirmed to contain the malicious code. Users of these affected extensions are urged to either remove them or ensure they update to the safe versions released after December 26.
For those uncertain of the safety of their extensions, it’s recommended to uninstall the affected extensions, reset important passwords, clear browser data, and restore browser settings to their defaults.
