The Dark Side of AI-Driven Entrepreneurship: AI Fatigue, Cognitive Depletion, and Entrepreneurial Paralysis

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are increasingly embedded within entrepreneurial ecosystems, enabling startups to automate strategic analysis, optimize decision-making, and accelerate opportunity recognition. Despite these advantages, growing dependence on AI-driven systems may also generate unintended cognitive and behavioral consequences for entrepreneurs operating under persistent digital pressure. Existing entrepreneurship and AI literature predominantly portrays AI as a capability-enhancing mechanism that improves strategic agility, innovation, and performance. However, limited attention has been given to the darker side of AI-driven entrepreneurship, particularly the psychological and cognitive burdens associated with continuous exposure to algorithmic information, automated recommendations, and real-time strategic analytics. Addressing this gap, the present study develops and empirically examines a cognitive-process framework explaining how AI fatigue contributes to entrepreneurial paralysis through the mediating roles of decision exhaustion and cognitive avoidance.