Beyond the Algorithm

• In Event: Economic Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Roundtable 3: AI and Algorithms

Abstract

This chapter comes from a book I am writing on AI and organizations. This chapter examines the limits of artificial intelligence and the enduring importance of human judgment in organizational life. While generative AI systems demonstrate impressive capabilities in pattern recognition, prediction, and content generation, they lack contextual understanding, metacognitive awareness, and experiential learning. Drawing on recent scholarship and original survey data from U.S. workers who use AI on the job, I distinguish between efficiency and effectiveness and show that AI-assisted tasks are more likely to be perceived as efficient and effective when accompanied by substantial human involvement. These findings challenge the view that AI’s value lies in full automation. Instead, AI functions most effectively as part of a human-machine partnership in which human oversight, interpretation, and ethical reasoning remain central. I argue for a human-centered approach to twenty-first-century organizations—one that recognizes both the strengths and limitations of AI and emphasizes reflective, adaptive, and socially embedded forms of decision-making beyond the algorithm.

Author

• Eric Dahlin, Brigham Young University-Provo