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Artificial intelligence is contributing to increasing burnout among cybersecurity professionals, a field that was already known for being highly stressful, Bloomberg reports.
Val Mairet, who spent nearly a decade working in cybersecurity, experienced this firsthand as AI tools became more common. Her workload increased because of more security alerts and vulnerabilities created by AI-generated code, while her team was also pressured to use AI to improve productivity.
Instead of making work easier, these changes caused her to feel overwhelmed and disconnected from the purpose of her job. After taking two months of burnout leave, she eventually left cybersecurity.
Other professionals are experiencing similar challenges. AI has become more capable of identifying and exploiting security weaknesses, creating even more threats for cybersecurity teams to handle.
At the same time, AI can automate simpler tasks, leaving employees responsible for more difficult problems that require deeper and longer periods of concentration. This can make burnout worse rather than better.
Many cybersecurity workers are considering leaving their jobs, and some are thinking about leaving the field entirely. This is concerning because cybersecurity professionals protect important systems, including hospitals, banks and critical infrastructure. If experienced workers become exhausted or leave the industry, there may be fewer skilled people available to respond to increasingly sophisticated threats.
However, awareness of mental health is growing, and organizations are providing more support. For Mairet, leaving cybersecurity eventually allowed her health and creativity to return, leading her to publish four novels in one year.
