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“Collaborating” with AI: Taking a System View to Explore the Future of Work

Author

Listed:
  • Callen Anthony

    (Department of Management and Organizations, Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, New York 10012)

  • Beth A. Bechky

    (Graduate School of Management, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616)

  • Anne-Laure Fayard

    (NOVA School of Business and Economics, 2775-405 Carcavelos, Portugal)

Abstract

In the wake of media hype about artificial intelligence (AI)/human collaboration, organizations are investing considerable resources into developing and using AI. In this paper, we draw on theories of technology in organizations to frame new directions for the study of what it means to work “with” AI. Drawing on prior literature, we consider how interactions between users and AI might unfold through theoretical lenses which cast technology as a tool and as a medium. Reflecting on how AI technologies diverge from technologies studied in the past, we propose a new perspective, which considers technology as a counterpart in a system of work that includes its design, implementation, and use. This perspective encourages developing a grounded understanding of how AI intersects with work, and therefore ethnography, building on thick descriptions, is an apt approach. We argue that relational ethnographic approaches can assist organization theorists in navigating the methodological challenges of taking a counterpart perspective and propose several strategies for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Callen Anthony & Beth A. Bechky & Anne-Laure Fayard, 2023. "“Collaborating” with AI: Taking a System View to Explore the Future of Work," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(5), pages 1672-1694, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:34:y:2023:i:5:p:1672-1694
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2022.1651
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