How Do Employees’ Perceptions on AI Shape Their Creative Agency : A Qualitative Study on Motivation, Accountability and Ownership

Sammanfattning

In an era where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly embedded into workplaces, this study explores how employees perceive the use and existence of AI and how such perceptions influence their Creative Agency (CA). Inspired by a phenomenological research strategy, we adopted a qualitative, inductive approach with semi-structured interviews with employees working in organizations that have authorized the use of AI applications, either in-house developed or outsourced. Our sampling was purposive yet intentionally non-stratified across variables such as age, gender, geographic location, hierarchical position, job role or industry, allowing us to investigate participants’ lived experiences without the constraints of predetermined demographic assumptions. The findings reveal a complex and evolving relationship between humans and intelligence systems. Employees' perceptions of AI extend beyond utility and their attributes, encompassing questions of identity, ownership, accountability and motivation, which are the key constituents of CA. While employees view AI as capable and noncapable in certain areas, they demonstrate a strong desire to retain authorship and decision-making process. They also carry mixed perceptions on motivation and personal development. Through the analysis, we reached a conclusion and answered the research question by exemplifying how six specific perceptions influence CA. Inductively, we have also identified six tensions that arise when employees are using AI. This study contributed to human-AI relationships studies, CA literature and the SocioTechnical System (STS) literature by expanding its empirical base and by expanding the understanding of the system beyond the point of implementation of AI. As for the practical implications, this study contributes to the nuanced understanding of the need to re-defining certain workplace paradigms. It also identifies the drastic shifts evolving in workplace dynamics due to the interplay between human and AI. Moreover, this study calls for reimagining how workplaces foster creativity, distribute accountability and support personal development in an inevitably AI-enhanced world. Ultimately, the research underscores the importance of amplifying synergistic strategies to foster the human-AI relationship at augmented workplace. We acknowledge the limitations of the study, such as demographics, cultural influence, and the reliance on voluntary participation. Future researchers could adapt the sample to other AI contexts, research the same phenomenon using an ethnographic approach, or conduct comparative studies between different types of AI.