Configurations of human-centered AI at work: seven actor-structure engagements in organizations

PURPOSE: The discourse on the human-centricity of AI at work needs contextualization. The aim of this study is to distinguish prevalent criteria of human-centricity for AI applications in the scientific discourse and to relate them to the work contexts for which they are specifically intended. This leads to configurations of actor-structure engagements that foster human-centricity in the workplace. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION: The study applies configurational theory to sociotechnical systems’ analysis of work settings. The assumption is that different approaches to promote human-centricity coexist, depending on the stakeholders responsible for their application. METHOD: The exploration of criteria indicating human-centricity and their synthesis into configurations is based on a cross-disciplinary literature review following a systematic search strategy and a deductive-inductive qualitative content analysis of 101 research articles. RESULTS: The article outlines eight criteria of human-centricity, two of which face challenges of human-centered technology development (trustworthiness and explainability), three challenges of human-centered employee development (prevention of job loss, health, and human agency and augmentation), and three challenges of human-centered organizational development (compensation of systems’ weaknesses, integration of user-domain knowledge, accountability, and safety culture). The configurational theory allows contextualization of these criteria from a higher-order perspective and leads to seven configurations of actor-structure engagements in terms of engagement for (1) data and technostructure, (2) operational process optimization, (3) operators’ employment, (4) employees’ wellbeing, (5) proficiency, (6) accountability, and (7) interactive cross-domain design. Each has one criterion of human-centricity in the foreground. Trustworthiness does not build its own configuration but is proposed to be a necessary condition in all seven configurations. DISCUSSION: The article contextualizes the overall debate on human-centricity and allows us to specify stakeholder-related engagements and how these complement each other. This is of high value for practitioners bringing human-centricity to the workplace and allows them to compare which criteria are considered in transnational declarations, international norms and standards, or company guidelines.