Humanizing Business in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

In this chapter, we address the problem of humanizing business when we must interact with intelligent robots and other AI systems, rather than real people, on a daily basis. There is a strong tendency to anthropomorphize pets and other animals that carries over to smart machines, leading us to replace human relationships with something less sophisticated and subtle. As a result, we argue, humanizing machines actually tends to dehumanize the workplace. We take an anthropological approach to this phenomenon that teaches three important lessons. One is that Western cultures have a particularly strong tendency to anthropomorphize machines, due to what Max Weber called the disenchantment of nature. Another is that humans have long interacted with intelligent nonhuman beings, such as domesticated work animals, without anthropomorphizing them. Finally, we can take a cue from these interactions to create analogous relationships with robots by neither humanizing nor objectifying them, but by relating to them in a manner that suits their capabilities. In particular, we can avoid anthropomorphism by involving workers in the training of AI systems, much as our ancestors trained domesticated animals, and by introducing ritual activities involving robots that clarify their ethical status and guide our interaction with them.