Artificial Intelligence & Knowledge Work – Implications, Opportunities and Risks
The project is part of the focus group “Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace” of the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The aim is to develop recommendations for the handling of AI in interdisciplinary collaboration with experts from politics, science and industry.
About the project
The research project focuses on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in the intraorganizational workplace of knowledge workers and the future of AI in the workplace. The project investigates with which intentions and strategies AI applications are used in the workplace, which changes are perceived by the participants and how knowledge workers, companies and co-determination actors react to them. The work is methodically guided by an empirically qualitative social science research design with a mixed-method approach. The project thus joins the existing research on automation and the future of work, and supplements it with empirical findings on the use of knowledge-based AI applications at work stations within organisations in Germany.
AI and knowledge work
Artificial intelligence is generally (AI) regarded as the essential driver for a comprehensive transformation of the world of knowledge management. The term AI refers to a series of systems that, on the basis of large amounts of data, can learn to solve complex social problems, recognize patterns, or predict behaviour completely or partially autonomously – abilities that are usually associated with human intelligence. AI enters into areas of the workplace that previously seemed to be reserved for humans. This applies increasingly to comparatively demanding knowledge work, i.e. white-collar-work or other work that demands non-routine problem solving, for example, based knowledge-intensive service sectors such as marketing or product development. The future of AI in speech recognition, word processing, simultaneous translation and the automated creation of complex standard texts are being regarded as a powerful technical tool with diverse potentials in the workplace.
Media & Links
- Focus – Job Killer KI? Guest article (German) by Hendrik Send und Sascha Friesike.
- HIIG-Dossier on Working in the digital age
| Duration | June 2019 until May 2022 |
| Funding | Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs |
Georg von Richthofen, Dr.
Hendrik Send, Prof. Dr.
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Society
Technologies are reshaping how economies and societies develop and operate in a changing, globally connected digital environment. We investigate how different forms of innovation and entrepreneurship address systemic societal challenges.
Fabian Stephany, Dr.Associated Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Georg von Richthofen, Dr.Senior Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Hendrik Send, Prof. Dr.Associated Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Shirley OgollaAssociated Researcher: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
Sonja Köhne
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Barbara CulibergFormer Visiting Researcher: Artificial Intelligence & Knowledge Work -
Constantin von EstorffFormer Student Assistant: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society -
Maria GradlFormer Student Assistant: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society
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Marie BlümlFormer Researcher: Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Global Digital Transformation -
Miriam FeldmanFormer Associate Researcher: Knowledge & Society -
Vivien HardFormer student assistant: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Gesellschaft
Journal articles and conference proceedings
v. Richthofen, G. (2022). Happy Hosts? Hedonic and Eudaimonic Wellbeing in the Sharing Economy. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.802101 Publication details
Richthofen, G., & von Wangenheim, F. (2021). Managing service providers in the sharing economy: Insights from Airbnb’s host management. Journal of Business Research(134), 765-777. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.06.049 Publication details
von Richthofen, G., Ogolla, S., & Send, H. (2021). Adopting AI at work: Empirical insights from German organizations. 37th Colloquium European Group for Organization Studies (EGOS), 1-24. Publication details
Book contributions and chapters
von Richthofen, G. (2021). Algorithmisches Management und seine Folgen: Arbeiten in der Sharing Economy. In J. Nachtwei, & A. Sureth (Eds.), Sonderband Zukunft der Arbeit, Human Resources Consulting Review, Band 12 (pp. 428-431). Berlin: VCP. Publication details
Richthofen, G., & Fischer, E. (2019). Airbnb and hybridized logics of commerce and hospitality. In Russell W. Belk, G.M. Eckhardt, & F. Bardhi, Handbook of the Sharing Economy (pp. 193-207). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. Publication details
Working paper
Köhne, S., von Richthofen, G., & Send, H. (2023). Künstliche Intelligenz und betriebliche Mitbestimmung. Herausforderungen und Handlungsmöglichkeiten für Arbeitnehmer*innenvertretungen. HIIG Discussion Paper Series, 2023(1). DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7615028 Publication details
Other publications
von Richthofen, G., Köhne, S., & Send, H. (2023). KI in der Wissensarbeit: Handlungsfelder und Ansätze für eine beschäftigtenorientierte Gestaltung. HIIG Impact Publication Series. Publication details
Richthofen, G. (2021). Shaping the Airbnb Experience: How Platforms Manage Service Providers in the Sharing Economy. Digital Society Blog. Publication details
Richthofen, G. & Humayun, M. (2020). Eingeschränkte Identitätsprojekte: Wie sich die Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung von Covid-19 auf Konsumenten auswirken. Digital Society Blog. Publication details
Lectures and presentations (9)
Sonja Köhne
Algorithmisches Management: Ein Phänomen der Digitalisierung der ArbeitsweltMultistakeholder-Dialog. Ethik der Digitalisierung. Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany: 08.10.2021 Further information
Georg v. Richthofen
Summer School Evangelische Hochschule Freiburg. Evangelische Hochschule Freiburg, Online, Germany: 09.07.2021Sonja Köhne
Why AI?. Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft, Online, Germany: 10.06.2021 Further informationHendrik Send
re:publica 21, Online, Berlin, Germany: 22.05.2021 Further informationSonja Köhne
KI-Tag der Technologieberatungsstelle DGB NRW (TBS NRW). TBS NRW, Online, Dortmund, Germany: 20.05.2021Sonja Köhne
Vom Wert der Demokratie und demokratischen Werten in Zeiten des Wandels. Forum Politische Bildung – IG Metall, Frankfurt, Online, Germany: 11.05.2021Sonja Köhne
Webseminar. IG BCE, Online, Germany: 23.03.2021Sonja Köhne
Digitalkonferenz der IG BCE. IG BCE, Hannover, Germany: 11.03.2021 Further informationSonja Köhne
Panels (4)
Forschungsgruppe Globalisierung, Arbeit und Produktion. Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, Berlin, Germany: 12.05.2023 Further information
Sonja Köhne
Artificial Intelligence & WorkOpen Lunch Talk Series. Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Online, Germany: 10.06.2021 Further information
Georg v. Richthofen
Algorithmen, Automatisierung und Arbeit – Wie KI unsere Arbeit und unser Leben besser machen kann. BMAS. Bundesministeriums für Arbeit und Soziales, Berlin, Germany: 20.05.2021 Further informationGeorg von Richthofen
KI in Betrieben - Realitäten aus der ArbeitsweltFachsymposium „Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) in der Arbeitswelt".. Germany. Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), Online, : 01.10.2020 Further information
Georg von Richthofen
Moderation of workshops and panels (2)
Sonja Köhne
LABOR.A 2021. Hans Böckler Stiftung, Online, Germany: 06.10.2021 Further informationSonja Köhne
Organisation of events (3)
Open Lunch Talk Series. 10.06.2021. Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Online, Germany (National) Further information
Maria Gradl, Georg von Richthofen, Shirley Ogolla
Vom Fließband zur KIDigitaler Salon. 28.04.2021. Online, Berlin, Germany (National) Further information
Georg von Richthofen
Digitaler Salon: KI – Die Letzte räumt das Internet auf31.03.2021. Livestream, Berlin, Deutschland (National) Further information
Natasha Vukajlovic, Philip Meier, Christian Grauvogel