{"id":8095,"date":"2025-12-03T16:20:31","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T16:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.aom.org\/?p=8095"},"modified":"2025-12-03T21:20:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T21:20:47","slug":"human-like-ai-at-work-will-generate-three-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/human-like-ai-at-work-will-generate-three-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Human-like AI at Work Will Generate Three Threats"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Daniel Butcher<\/a><\/p>\n

Before the end of 2026, AI-powered entities will come to be thought of as a human-like employees, according to Academy of Management Scholar Christian Tr\u00f6ster<\/a> of K\u00fchne Logistics University. Leaders will have to navigate unique challenges\u2014including threats to workers\u2019 identity\u2014when integrating AI into their teams and organizations.<\/p>\n

Across workplaces, a subtle yet profound shift is underway: Employees are beginning to treat AI systems as if they were human counterparts, Tr\u00f6ster noted, because AI increasingly communicates and appears to reason in ways that can trigger emotional reactions traditionally reserved for people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis marks AI\u2019s emergence as a second social presence in organizations,\u201d Tr\u00f6ster said. \u201cMy prediction: In 2026, the central leadership challenge around AI will be managing the relationship between people and AI\u2014and the identity threats that come with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI will be experienced less as a tool and more as an entity whose \u2018voice\u2019 matters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Evidence of this shift is mounting. A Washington Post analysis of 47,000 shared ChatGPT conversations found that more than 10% focused on emotional or relationship topics\u2014not just information search. Research by OpenAI and MIT Media Lab across more than 4 million conversations identifies \u201cpower users\u201d whose interactions show clear emotional dependence on the model.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, unease is growing, Tr\u00f6ster noted. A Pew Research Center survey across 25 countries found that 34% of adults feel more concerned than excited about AI\u2019s role in daily life, while only 16% feel the reverse. A global KPMG study of 48,000 people across 47 countries found that more than half of respondents remain wary of trusting AI systems, even as adoption rises.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese patterns make clear that AI is becoming socially meaningful, emotionally charged, and psychologically consequential,\u201d Tr\u00f6ster said. \u201cPeople engage with it as a conversational partner\u2014and increasingly experience it as a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

These dynamics generate three intertwined identity threats, he said:<\/p>\n