Cobots in knowledge work: Human – AI collaboration in managerial professions

Abstract

Current technological developments, as well as widespread application of artificial intelligence, will doubtlessly continue to impact how people live and work. In this research, we explored synergies between human workers and AI in managerial tasks. We hypothesized that human-AI collaboration will increase productivity. In the paper, several levels of proximity between AI and humans in a work setting are distinguished. The multi-stage study, covering the exploratory phase in which we conducted a study of preferences using 10-item Likert scale, was conducted with a sample of 366 respondents. The study focused on working with different types of AI. The second and third phase of the study, in which we primarily used qualitative methods (scenario-based design combined with semi-structured interviews with six participants), focused on researching modes of collaboration between humans and virtual assistants. The study results generally confirmed our hypothesis about increased productivity due to enhanced human-AI collaboration, proving that the future of AI in knowledge work needs to focus not on full automation but rather on collaborative approaches where humans and AI work closely together.