What Do I Do in a World of Artificial Intelligence? Investigating the Impact of Substitutive Decision-Making AI Systems on Employees’ Professional Role Identity

Authors

Franz Strich, University of BayreuthFollow
Anne-Sophie Mayer, University of PassauFollow
Marina Fiedler, University of PassauFollow

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems in the workplace increasingly substitute for employees’ tasks, responsibilities, and decision-making. Consequently, employees must relinquish core activities of their work processes without the ability to interact with the AI system (e.g., to influence decision-making processes or adapt or overrule decision-making outcomes). To deepen our understanding of how substitutive decision-making AI systems affect employees’ professional role identity and how employees adapt their identity in response to the system, we conducted an in-depth case study of a company in the area of loan consulting. We qualitatively analyzed more than 60 interviews with employees and managers. Our research contributes to the literature on IS and identity by disclosing mechanisms through which employees strengthen and protect their professional role identity despite being unable to directly interact with the AI system. Further, we highlight the boundary conditions for introducing an AI system and contribute to the body of empirical research on the potential downsides of AI.

Recommended Citation

Strich, Franz; Mayer, Anne-Sophie; and Fiedler, Marina (2021) "What Do I Do in a World of Artificial Intelligence? Investigating the Impact of Substitutive Decision-Making AI Systems on Employees’ Professional Role Identity," Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 22(2), .
DOI: 10.17705/1jais.00663
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol22/iss2/9

DOI

10.17705/1jais.00663