Towards a socio-specific artificial intelligence adoption framework

Abstract

Organisations need to be able to adopt AI successfully, but also responsibly. This requirement is not trivial, as AI can deliver real value to adopters. However, can also result in serious impacts on humans. AI’s technical capabilities make AI powerful, still the implementation of AI in organisations is not limited to the technical elements and requires a more holistic approach. An AI implementation within an organisation is a socio-technical system, with the interplay between social and technical components. When AI makes decisions that impact people, the socio considerations in AI adoption frameworks are paramount. Although technical adoption challenges are well researched and can overlap with aspects associated with traditional IT implementations, artificial intelligence adoption often faces additional social implication. This study focuses on these social challenges, which is a problem frequently experienced by many organisations. The study investigates how an organisation can increase adoption of AI as part of its quest to become more data-driven. This study was conducted at an automotive manufacturer’s analytics competence centre, located in South Africa. This paper describes the first iteration of a larger research effort that follows the design science research methodology. A socio-specific artificial intelligence adoption framework was created and can be used by organisations to help them succeed with their AI adoption initiatives in a responsible manner.