AI is revolutionizing how people do business today. It can help companies improve their decision-making, given that employees are willing to adopt algorithms when faced with having to make decisions. Some people even let algorithms help them choose which job offer to take.
According to a new managerial study carried out by two researchers in Germany, cognitive perceptions play a vital role in such willingness.
The researchers, Sabrina Schneider and Michael Leyer, wrote about their study in the journal Managerial and Decision Economics (citation below).
Willingness to use AI to help chose a new job
In their web-based study, the authors exposed 310 participants to an important decision situation. They had to make a personal strategic career choice – choose which job offer to accept.
The participants were told that they were in the job market seeking out their next career step. They had been successful in some of their job applications. In other words, some employers had offered them jobs.
The participants had to choose one of the job offers. Each job offer came with a list of pros and cons. They also had the option of using an algorithm (artificial intelligence) to select the best solution for them objectively.
The volunteers had to decide on their willingness to delegate their decision to the algorithm. In other words, were they willing to have artificial intelligence help them in their career choices?
Willingness depends on cognitive perceptions
Participants with lower levels of situational awareness were more likely to delegate their decision to the algorithm, the authors reported.
Their findings emphasized the relevance of cognitive perceptions in determining whether to delegate option decisions.
What is AI (artificial intelligence)?
AI means artificial intelligence. The term refers to software programs that make machines such as computers and robots think like us (humans). It also makes them behave like us.
Some experts believe that we can only call it AI if it performs as well as or better than a human. ‘Perform,’ in this context, refers to human computational capacity, speed, and accuracy.
Citation
“Me or information technology? Adoption of artificial intelligence in the delegation of personal strategic decisions,” Sabrina Schneider and Michael Leyer. Managerial and Decision Economics, First published: 20 February 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.2982.