Artificial Intelligence and Management: From Human vs. Machine to Augmented Humans
Current developments suggest that artificial intelligence (AI) will be the most important change agent in the 21st century. In our review essay, we draw on three recent books to develop a perspective on how AI impacts management and society at large. We analyse the evolving human-machine relationship along three dimensions - economic, socio-psychological, and ethical. Drawing on integrated theory perspectives, we argue that, in our lifetimes, machines cannot replace, but only complement humans in complex managerial tasks. Whether machine augmentation leads to superior performance, reduces human biases, and promotes greater fairness depends on how humans and machines interact. We therefore conceptualise augmented management as the complementary interaction between humans and machines, which helps organizations better address complex cognitive tasks than either humans or computers can do. Our perspective on AI has important implications for organization and management theories. We discuss how it challenges widely held theoretical assumptions and opens up new avenues for future research. The core motivation is to spark a wide academic debate on AI in management to generate insight and inform practice on one of the foremost grand challenges of our times.