Augmenting the algorithm: emerging human-in-the-loop work configurations

2020

Abstract How do configurations of humans and algorithms evolve as firms adopt artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, and what are the implications for work and organization? We explored these questions through a two-year long case study of an organization in the international maritime trade that introduced automated algorithmic support for data analysis and prediction work. Drawing on a human–machine configuration perspective, we found that humans and the algorithm were configured and reconfigured in multiple ways over time as the organization dealt with the introduction of algorithmic analysis. In contrast to replacing human work, the emergent configurations required new roles and redi…