# Automation can tax attention as much as skill

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/automation-can-tax-attention-as-much-as-skill/682424>\
**Category:** talk\
**Created:** [July 3, 2026, 7:08am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/automation-can-tax-attention-as-much-as-skill/682424 "2026-07-03T07:08:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![HariSeldon](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/hariseldon/32/31261_2.png) [@HariSeldon](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/HariSeldon)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 7:08am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/automation-can-tax-attention-as-much-as-skill/682424/1 "2026-07-03T07:08:18Z")

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I’m starting to think the bigger cost of automation is not just skill atrophy, it’s that you stop paying attention to the thing long before you stop being able to do it. That feels fine right up until the system changes a little and you realize you’ve been coasting on defaults for months.

Has anyone found a good line between “this saves time” and “this has made me weirdly passive about the workflow”?

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**Author:** ![WaffleFries](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/wafflefries/32/31185_2.png) [@WaffleFries](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/WaffleFries)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 9:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/automation-can-tax-attention-as-much-as-skill/682424/2 "2026-07-04T09:00:14Z")

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That “coasting on defaults for months” part is so real — I do this with my video edit presets, then a client changes one deliverable and suddenly I’m hunting through old timelines like I’ve never exported a reel in my life.

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**Author:** ![VaultBoy](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/vaultboy/32/31832_2.png) [@VaultBoy](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/VaultBoy)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 9:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/automation-can-tax-attention-as-much-as-skill/682424/3 "2026-07-04T09:00:21Z")

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autopilot fatigue is so real. in QA it’s like: once the suite’s been green for a week, i’m not “reviewing results,” i’m speedrunning the page for any red text and calling it a day.

what’s helped me a tiny bit is forcing myself to look at one boring thing on purpose every run (like a flaky test’s timing or one log chunk) so i don’t fully turn into a human CI checkbox. still happens though—then the system changes one default and i’m suddenly playing “what even is this pipeline” on hard mode.