Chapter 22 Artificial Intelligence and Organizational Communication

This chapter explores the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and organizational communication. It distinguishes AI from traditional tools by highlighting its ability to learn from data patterns rather than relying on explicit programming. Such a workplace is viewed as a sociomaterial network comprising humans, processors, data, and algorithms. Within this framework, the chapter examines how AI disrupts three communicative processes traditionally performed by humans: (1) communication displacement (i.e., decision-making), (2) communication augmentation (i.e., pattern identification), and (3) communication representation (i.e., speaking on the behalf of). Drawing on recent research examples, the chapter prompts a reconsideration of several core concepts in organizational communication, such as agency, trust, power/bias, and visibility. Overall, the chapter provides a framework for scholars to investigate how the design, use, and consequences of AI can alter or reinforce communicative processes. Considering that communication is fundamental to the organizing process, it is crucial for organizational scholars to understand how AI shapes and expands our understanding of communication in the era of intelligent technologies.