1073: “Problems” with AI: How Artificial Intelligence Helps Frame and Formulate Problems in Organization (18066)

Coordinator(s)

• CP

  Chan Hyung Park

  Scientist, ETH ZURICH, Switzerland

Discussant(s)

• MB

  Markus Baer

  Washington U. in St. Louis, United States

Coordinator(s)

• JC

  Johnathan Cromwell

  U. of San Francisco, United States

This symposium investigates the intersection of two topics that are gaining traction in academic conversations across the Academy. The first is based on a phenomenon, which is the rapid rise of generative AI technologies that are transforming work and posing serious questions about how they will affect human productivity and well-being. The other is based on theory, which is the rising awareness that effective strategies for innovation and management depend on their fit with the nature of problems that they aim to solve, which in turn depends on how well individuals frame and formulate problems. Scholars have been theorizing on the importance of framing and formulating “problems” for several decades, but the topics have received growing interest in recent years due to prominent publications highlighting their fundamental role in (a) defining opportunities to pursue during strategic decision-making, (b) providing a focal point for gaining resources in entrepreneurial ventures, and (c) creating the fundamental context in which problem-solving occurs to drive creativity and innovation. Problem framing and formulation are likely to become even more important for organizational actors in organizational research because generative AI technologies are effective in and increasingly capable of creating solutions across various tasks, modalities, and contexts once problems are clearly defined. Therefore, this symposium is both timely and relevant to help shape the conversation on these important topics, which will be facilitated by many leading voices in the field.

Presentations:

• 17:45 – 19:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1073: Human-AI Interaction: Dividing the Labor, Interrogating, Doom and Delight (18066)
  

  Author: Hila Lifshitz-Assaf – Warwick Business School

  Author: Steven Randazzo – Warwick Business School
• 17:45 – 19:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1073: Envision the Future or Critique the Past: A Theory of Evaluating Problems for Innovation (18066)
  

  Author: Johnathan Cromwell – U. of San Francisco

  Author: Jean-François Harvey – HEC Montréal

  Author: Andy El-Zayaty – Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara U.
• 17:45 – 19:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1073: Machine Predictions and Causal Explanations: Evidence from a Field Experiment (18066)
  

  Author: Xi Kang – Vanderbilt U.

  Author: Hyunjin Kim – INSEAD
• 17:45 – 19:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1073: Understanding Motivations of Open Artificial Intelligence Developers: Evidence from GitHub (18066)
  

  Author: Savindu Herath – ETH Zurich

  Author: Patrick Tinguely – ETH Zürich