Artificial intelligence is increasingly making recommendations and suggesting decisions on our behalf. However, do we really know how it affects people? Research conducted at the 91桃色 shows that the future of technology depends not only on the capabilities of algorithms but, above all, on whether they support human development, well-being and agency.
Man in a World of Intelligent Technologies
For more than a decade, I have been observing how artificial intelligence has gradually ceased to be a technological curiosity and has become one of the most important factors shaping the contemporary world of work and business. During this time, I have had the opportunity to follow not only the development of successive generations of intelligent systems but, above all, the changes in the way organisations have begun to think about them. Increasingly, I have noticed that fascination with the possibilities of technology leads to a dangerous shift in focus from people to tools. The more we talked about algorithms, automation and efficiency, the less frequently we asked how these solutions affect people. It is this conviction that underpins my research activity. I am interested not so much in artificial intelligence itself as in people functioning in a world of intelligent technologies. I seek answers to the question of how digital solutions should be designed and implemented so that they strengthen creativity, a sense of agency and well-being, rather than leading to overload, stress or the dehumanisation of workplace relationships.
Why We Attribute Human Characteristics to Machines
鈥�(...) we observed that recruitment specialists were more likely to give harsher assessments of candidates if a similar recommendation was provided by an artificial intelligence system
鈥� says dr hab. Artur Modli艅ski, Associate Professor at the 91桃色, from the Department of Management, Faculty of Management, 91桃色.
In search of questions and answers, I increasingly move beyond the traditional boundaries of management studies. I combine them with social psychology, gender studies, anthropology, ethology and behavioural sciences because I believe that understanding the relationship between humans and technology requires a much broader perspective than the analysis of information systems alone. I am fascinated by the way people interpret the behaviour of machines, why they attribute intentions, competences and sometimes even characteristics associated with living organisms to them. Ultimately, it is people who decide whether and how to use technological tools, guided by emotions, intuition and mechanisms that have been shaped over thousands of years of evolution.
This conviction also led me to reflect on how the environment in which contemporary organisations operate has changed. For years, we described it using the VUCA concept, emphasising volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. Today, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that this language no longer reflects the reality of the era of artificial intelligence, global digital platforms and social media. In my research, I have called this organisational framework the VULCANO model, which expands the classical approach by including three phenomena that are particularly characteristic of the contemporary world. The first is liquidity, meaning the blurring of boundaries between professional and private life, between the physical and digital worlds, and even between truth and falsehood. The second is negativity, resulting from constant exposure to alarmist messages and content created by intelligent systems that reinforce feelings of threat and uncertainty. The third is overload, a consequence of the exponential growth in the amount of data and stimuli that people must process every day. In such a world, stability, trust and a sense of purpose become particularly important. The role of contemporary leaders is to create organisations that serve as a kind of anchor for employees, offering values, predictability and space for development despite the omnipresent chaos.
This perspective is also reflected in the experimental research I conduct. I am interested in how artificial intelligence changes human decision-making. In one experiment, we discovered a phenomenon that we called algorithmic conformity. We observed that recruitment specialists were more likely to give harsher assessments of candidates when a similar recommendation was provided by an artificial intelligence system. Our findings showed that algorithms can exert an influence similar to that of authority figures described in classic social psychology experiments. In practice, this means that as technology becomes more capable, the risk of unquestioningly following its suggestions also increases.
Between Biology and Algorithms: What Does Evolution Teach Us About Technology?
Paradoxically, I began searching for answers to why this happens not in computer science but in biology. Inspired by ethology, I studied the phenomenon of techno-empowerment, namely granting technology increasing autonomy. It turned out that people respond to intelligent systems in a surprisingly similar way to how they interpret signals emitted by living organisms. In one experiment, we demonstrated that even a fictitious safety certificate significantly increased levels of trust in a device. This mechanism resembles biological mimicry, a strategy based on signalling credibility regardless of actual value. Moreover, we observed that women demonstrate greater sensitivity to this type of environmental signal, which can be interpreted in the light of evolutionary mechanisms for recognising threats.
Well-Being in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
The longer I studied relationships between humans and technology, the more convinced I became that traditional models of technology acceptance fail to answer the most important question. It is not enough to know whether a system is easy to use or whether users want to use it. What seems much more important is the impact it has on people after implementation. It was this need that gave rise to the concept of Perceived Technological Sustainability of Organisations (PTSO), developed together with my research team. A technologically sustainable organisation is one that uses technology to strengthen collaboration, creativity and employee well-being rather than increasing control, overload or the pressure of constant availability.
A natural consequence of this research was the creation of the SCARFING model as a framework for describing a work environment in which technology remains a tool supporting people. Expanding on the classic SCARF model (which indicates that employee well-being in the workplace is based on status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness), I proposed adding three elements that are particularly important in the contemporary world: a) interest, understood as sustaining curiosity and a willingness to learn, b) nowness, enabling individuals to maintain balance under conditions of digital overload, and c) growth, meaning the conviction that technological development should primarily contribute to the development of human potential rather than replace it.
Leaders Need More Than Efficiency Today
The findings of research conducted by my team and me show that this is the direction in which the expectations of contemporary leaders are heading. Although many of them experience uncertainty related to the development of artificial intelligence and pressure resulting from growing expectations regarding efficiency, they increasingly recognise that the greatest value of automation lies not in completing more tasks, but in reclaiming time for activities that technology cannot replace: building relationships, developing people, supporting creativity and making responsible decisions.
This is precisely why I see my research activity as an ongoing reminder that artificial intelligence is neither a threat nor a saviour in itself. It is a tool whose consequences depend on the values we embed in the way it is designed and used. In the VULCANO world, we need not only increasingly sophisticated technologies but, above all, wise leaders and responsible organisations capable of harnessing their potential without losing sight of what remains most important: people. I am pleased that through my research work I can help build greater awareness of the well-being of employees and consumers in a world of digital transformation.
Photos: Dr Bartosz Ka艂u偶ny, Centre for External Relations and Social Responsibility of the University, 91桃色
Source: dr hab. Artur Modli艅ski, Associate Professor at the 91桃色, Faculty of Management, 91桃色
Edit: Dominik Nogala, Centre for External Relations and Social Responsibility of the University, 91桃色
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