AI-COLLAB - Anschub: Machines as teammates – exploring AI-enabled collaboration in global virtual teams

This research project aims to study the impact of AI-enabled collaboration technologies on team dynamics and performance in global virtual teams

Hintergrund des Projekts

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the business landscape, including how teams collaborate: newly developed AI technologies offer to support, mediate, and facilitate team collaboration (Hancock et al., 2020). Some tools profess to help teams be more effective. Other tools purport to make difficult communication processes easier. For example, Emotion AI promises to help decode non-verbal communication. Other tools, such as automated note-takers, create text as a service for teams and  individuals. Conversational agents, or chatbots, join teams to assist with multiple tasks.

A range of functions will continue to develop as AI emerges, with the promise of changing the way humans communicate and collaborate in the workplace. As researchers, we need to consider how these new technologies can change the nature of team collaboration and communication.

Projektziel

The objective is to advance knowledge on how (global) teams interact with AI-enabled collaboration technologies, and how these technologies impact team dynamics and team performance.

Projektablauf

We are creating a conversational agent (i.e., chatbot) that will support team coordination and conflict resolution. We will then deploy it in a sample of approx. 100 global virtual teams to test effect of the conversational agent (CA).

Innovation

One result will be the prototype of a CA. Next, we are expecting in-depth insights into team dynamics and performance as it relates to AI-enabled collaboration technology. These insights will allow us to continuously improve the CA. Eventually, it may result in a marketable product.

At the same time, this research will be disseminated to the research community (conference presentations and publications) and to businesses.