Software engineers are probably already familiar with the feeling of burnout from thinking too hard. The reality is very few people can work on the hardest problems they’re capable of for 8 hours a day.

Writing routine Python code for some system you know well is not that mentally taxing. Managing an agent that rapidly finishes tasks but needs careful review and big-picture planning is much more exhausting, and has higher returns on intelligence and deep careful thought.

I think this points towards the opposite conclusion of the OP. It’s not realistic to expect 8 hours of hard work out of a knowledge worker. Remote work naturally allows this transition, as employees can work a bit less but still overachieve with AI.

(I hate AI. Just observing the world we live in)