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Is it possible to create a responsible AI technology to be used and understood within workplaces and unblocked CEOs’ mindsets?

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Abstract

Most workers report that they are alienated from their jobs and find their workplaces to be stifling and uninviting. Given this condition, the introduction of computer technology, including AI, will only make matters worse, unless a more humane organizational culture is created. The key point in this article is the need to produce a responsible technology, so that employees are not further overworked and manipulated. To achieve this end, phenomenology is invoked, particularly the life world, to provide technology with a human foundation. In practice, this shift in philosophy means that when AI is introduced into an organization, workers have a central role in the design, implementation, and evaluation of this technology. Computer technology can thus promote human flourishing instead of control and alienation in workplaces.

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Notes

  1. See https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/05/amazon-worker-fired-app-dystopia.

  2. See https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-polices-based-jeff-bezos-belief-all-workers-are-lazy-2021-6.

  3. https://www.quantichumanism.org/flourishingai/.

  4. See https://hbr.org/2018/07/collaborative-intelligence-humans-and-ai-are-joining-forces. Also, https://medium.com/geekculture/centaurs-are-often-more-powerful-than-computers-549f827130d9

  5. As written in the webpage of ‘chessbase.com' “The result of the final was a real shocker: ZackS defeated 14-year-old Russian GM Vladimir Dobrov, working together with a 2600 + colleague (and of course computers) convincingly with a 2.5:1.5 score. A full report on both sides will follow. For now we just note that ZackS consisted of a team of two players from New Hampshire: Steven Cramton, 1685 USCF and Zackary Stephen, 1398 USCF. They used three computers for the event, an AMD 3200 + , a 2.8 MHz and a 1.6 MHz Pentium. The ZackS team used the chess engines Fritz, Shredder, Junior and Chess Tiger—no GMs or IMs were involved.” Visit: https://en.chessbase.com/post/dark-horse-zacks-wins-freestyle-che-tournament.

  6. For an electronic version, see https://hbr.org/2001/01/level-5-leadership-the-triumph-of-humility-and-fierce-resolve-2.

  7. Visit: https://www.garyhamel.com/blog/3-trillion.

  8. Visit: https://corporate-rebels.com/bucketlist/.

  9. Visit: https://corporate-rebels.com/trends/.

  10. Visit: https://hbr.org/2018/07/creating-a-purpose-driven-organization.

  11. Situational Analysis is the core methodology of FlourishingAI.

  12. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/rollo_may_392203?fbclid=IwAR0-1NX7lvCZFJ5dlrXoes_aS-418otupwr45oR0md85A45IVU9VZoFZfj4.

  13. This quote or very similar is connected to Eleonor Rosevelt, Buda Gautama, and St. Agustine.

  14. Argyris appears in the Thinkers50 list. “Chris Argyris was one of the first thinkers installed in the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame”. Visit https://thinkers50.com/blog/chris-argyris-1923-2013-appreciation/.

  15. Presentation done at Universidad Areandina, Bogota, Colombia, 2020.

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Funding

Funding was provided by Fulbright-MinCiencias.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology Department, University of Miami, Coral Gables, USA

    John W. Murphy

  2. School of Management, Fundación Universitaria del Área Andina, Bogotá, Colombia

    Carlos Largacha-Martínez

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  1. John W. Murphy
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  2. Carlos Largacha-Martínez
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Correspondence to Carlos Largacha-Martínez.

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Murphy, J.W., Largacha-Martínez, C. Is it possible to create a responsible AI technology to be used and understood within workplaces and unblocked CEOs’ mindsets?. AI & Soc 38, 2641–2652 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01316-8

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