Cognitive vs mechanical friction in knowledge work

This is a Collection of research curated for Liminary's blog post on mechanical vs cognitive friction for knowledge work: https://liminary.io/blog/best-ai-tools-friction-knowledge-work

Explore the research yourself with this Open Collection!

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About the article: This article explores why the best AI tools for knowledge work don’t eliminate friction but preserve it where it matters most. Drawing on research from cognitive science and organizational studies, it argues that while AI can boost productivity by removing mechanical friction—tedious, low-value effort—it should avoid removing cognitive friction, the effortful thinking that leads to insight and understanding.

The piece examines studies showing when AI improves performance and when it undermines it, explains why editing AI outputs often feels harder than starting fresh, and discusses the risks of automation bias. It concludes that the future of AI knowledge management lies in tools that think with humans, not for them—highlighting Liminary as an example of thoughtful AI design that supports recall, context, and cognitive engagement without replacing human judgment.