Rethinking Humanness: Human Relations in the age of AI and Technological Transformation

Introduction

In traditional organizational settings, people primarily interact and engage with other human beings: creative, thinking individuals who express emotions, feelings, and sentiments, and are guided by a complex mix of moral considerations and self-interests (Manne, 2016). However, the growing presence of emerging digital technologies, such as AI (artificial intelligence), machine learning, and large language models, is disrupting social relationships and interactions in the workplace. While novel technologies have transformed the workplace ever since the Industrial Revolution, we now observe how AI technologies and other automated applications are not only reshaping tasks traditionally performed by humans but are also increasingly used to manage human workers in organizations (Kellogg et al., 2020; Kim et al., 2024)

As a result, human-to-human interactions, socio-technical communications, and relationships are increasingly shaped, mediated, and, in some cases, disrupted or even replaced by these new technologies, leading to notable shifts in social relationships in and around work. It can be argued that aspects of humanness—those qualities, attributes, and practices of human beings that characterize and affirm what it means to be human, including human dignity—are being systematically corrupted, degraded, or eroded. This occurs as work designs and workflows are redefined by the integration of these technologies, such that the quality and quantity of the human contribution is significantly altered (Huang and Rust, 2018). This special issue focuses on what it means to be human in the workplace, in the age of AI technologies.

Context

The widespread proliferation of AI technologies in the workplace is evidenced by an emerging stream of multi-level research (Bankins et al., 2024). Most of these studies focus on the impact of AI technologies on various workplace outcomes (Budhwar et al., 2023; Pereira et al., 2023), including their positive impact on individual performance, satisfaction, commitment, and enhanced employee experiences (Malik et al., 2023), which, in turn, influence firm-level outcomes (Lee et al., 2023; Malik et al., 2022). Much of this literature therefore focuses on the instrumental use of AI, emphasizing efficiency and other benefits, although often without much consideration for the individual.

¹ Corresponding Guest Editor: Violetta Khoreva: violetta.khoreva @hanken.fi

Other research is more critical in its focus on the consequences of introducing AI into organizational decision-making and collaboration processes. In addition to highlighting the potentially adverse consequences of AI’s use for employees (such as monitoring and control) and its broader effects on those impacted by AI-supported decision making (e.g., unwarranted biases), research has shown how AI technologies mediate organizational practices, such as knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding (e.g., Arias-Pérez and Vélez-Jaramillo, 2022; Liu et al., 2025), and how the tools, applications, and outcomes of these technologies confirm gendered role stereotypes (e.g., Crăiuț and Iancu, 2022; Nadeem et al., 2022; Shreshta and Das, 2022). Overall, AI is often viewed as a tool that offers both opportunities and adverse consequences for organizations as well as individuals, both within and outside organizations.

However, less attention has been given to how the use of these technologies in work settings affects what it means to be human at work—whether, how and why it distracts from, enhances, or modifies the experience of being human. The question of humanness in the face of AI technologies follows from insights as developed in the fields of sociomateriality (Orlikowski and Scott, 2008) and actor-network theory (Latour, 2005). In both fields it is argued that human existence cannot be fully understood without considering its relationship with technology. As every technology, including AI, is created and used by humans, human existence is deeply intertwined with technology, making us fundamentally 'technological' beings.

Given their prowess in mimicking (and often exceeding) human cognitive abilities, AI systems are increasingly able to emulate “traits that many feel are central to being human” (Tegmark, 2017), especially with current advancements in large language models. This raises the question of what remains of, for example, creativity, judgment, wisdom (phronesis), morality, and wellbeing (eudaimonia) as these technologies make ever greater encroachments in the workplace.These questions are relevant because, for many employees, work holds significance beyond simply executing tasks for monetary compensation. If work is a fundamental aspect of being human, and if these new technologies are changing work, then they may also change what it means to be human in the workplace.

Humanness

In this special issue, we therefore invite scholars to critically engage with the transformations brought about by the ‘Age of AI’ through the broad, multidisciplinary theoretical lens of humanness. We understand humanness as something that refers to the qualities, experiences, behaviors, and practices that are (uniquely or predominantly) associated with being human.

Humanness is a rich but difficult to define concept that encompasses facets such as empathy, compassion, ethical behavior, communication, social connection, freedom, adaptability, responsibility, intolerance, purpose, cruelty, and egoism, among many others. Thus, while humanness often carries intuitive ‘positive’ connotations, it also has a ‘dark side’, particularly considering questions of why and how certain individuals or groups are dehumanized (Haarjärvi and Laari-Salmela, 2024; Haslam and Loughnan, 2014; Manne, 2016). The multi-faceted nature of the term extends to complexities and ambiguities in the interaction between human beings, which may be triggered and enhanced by the introduction of AI in the workplace. One can consider the effects on organizations and the impact of members humanizing AI (Einola and Khoreva, 2023; Einola et al., 2024).

The concept of humanness has been explored, theorized, and critiqued by scholars across disciplines, including philosophy, anthropology, psychology, sociology, and ethics. From a sociological perspective, the expression or enhancement of different facets of humanness is shaped by social structures, cultural norms, and interpersonal dynamics. For example, social interactionists such as Mead (1934) and Blumer (1966) argued that social identities, self- concepts, and behaviors individuals develop and rely upon in the context of social interaction, bear symbolic meanings that are continuously shaped and reshaped through social interactions and communication. Other sociologists, such as Merton (1968) and Parsons (1951) suggest that being human involves fulfilling various roles and functions necessary for the maintenance of social order. In this view, humanness is understood in terms of behaviors and attitudes that contribute to the functioning of society as a whole, rather than through the lens of social relationships and interactions within society.

From a psychological perspective, humanness involves understanding the qualities and characteristics that define human beings and influence their behavior and interactions. Key research interests include topics such as dehumanization (Haslam, 2006), ethical behavior (Tenbrunsel and Smith-Crowe, 2008), and empathy and compassion (Dutton et al., 2014; Simpson and Karantzas, 2019). Philosophers might delve deeper and ask whether the qualities, experiences, behaviors, and practices that define what it means to be human have continuity over space and time. They might also explore whether there is something essential and universal to humanness, perhaps in biological or cultural terms. Additionally, they could question whether the occurrence of certain qualities, experiences, behaviors, or practices in non-human species (or even non-biological entities) disqualifies them as characteristic of humanness (e.g., Archer and Maccarini, 2021). Further questions can be asked about the normative underpinnings or implications of designating certain qualities, experiences, behaviors, and practices as critical for humanness. We can also consider whether this designation pertains to individuals or groups, and whether it is evident in individual actions or interactions with others. Additionally, we can explore whether AI might enhance humanness, including in the workplace.

Objective of this special issue

We invite papers that examine the integration of emerging technologies in organizational and work settings to advance theory on humanness and its meaning in the contemporary, technologically transformed workplace. We encourage submissions that investigate both the positive and negative implications of new technologies for humanness, including their impact on ethical behavior, compassion, and other human qualities essential to dignity, such as autonomy, freedom, and related values. We also seek studies on how emerging technologies facilitate, incentivize, or amplify some of the less desirable aspects of humanness in organizational and work contexts. Furthermore, we welcome research that deepens our understanding of how organizations, amid technological change, can create work environments that may support employee flourishing (eudaimonia) and preserve humanness, authenticity, and individuality in the workplace.

By placing analytical attention on humanness in the context of the contemporary technologized workplace, this special issue aims to provide fresh insights and directions for research in sociology, psychology, and organizational studies. The goal is to inspire further scholarly engagement towards exploring the role of humanness in and around organizations amidst technological transformation.

The objective of this special issue is to advance and critically engage with diverse theoretical perspectives on humanness at the intersection of human relations and emerging technologies that are shaping the conditions under which human beings interact and work in organizations. In doing so, we aim to foster a scholarly dialogue that not only integrates existing frameworks but also generates fresh perspectives and new insights across a range of disciplines. Furthermore, the special issue aims to advance our understanding of humanness and the interplay between humans and emerging technologies across various levels in business and public organizations.

Authors are invited to consider these and related questions as starting points for their theoretical contributions, keeping the central focus on how these technologies shape aspects of humanness:

Potential contributors should note

We expect contributions from around the world to initiate constructive debates, and the special issue welcomes the following types of research.

First, while much of the existing research has utilized empirical data from vignette studies (e.g., participants imagining interactions with disruptive intelligent technologies), student samples, or platforms like Amazon’s MTurk (Langer and Landers, 2021), the human side and real-life human experiences with AI and emerging technologies remain relatively unexplored. This special issue, therefore, welcomes rigorously executed research on real-life people in organizational settings, including in-depth ethnographic, longitudinal, qualitative, and quantitative studies employing any social science method or paradigm.

Second, conceptual or theoretical papers that make novel theoretical contributions are also encouraged.

Next, there is a growing body of research on AI in the manufacturing industry particularly from North American and European countries. This special issue encourages research from other industries and types of organizations, and also from emerging markets.

Finally, we are dedicated to embracing a plurality of perspectives and theoretical foundations, including interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches. We are especially keen to receive submissions that highlight marginalized voices and contexts, such as those of contingent workers, volunteers, migrants, refugees, and more.

Please note that while we aim to include accepted manuscripts in this special issue, there is a possibility that accepted papers may be published in a general issue instead. This ensures timely publication while maintaining the high standards of the journal.

Deadlines

To be considered for this special issue, submissions must fit with the aim and scope of this call and, more generally, with those of Human Relations. Papers should be prepared in accordance with the journal’s submission guidelines. Full-length papers should be submitted through the journal’s online submission system: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/hr between the 1st of May 2026 and the 31st of May 2026. Please make sure to tick the box “Special Issue” when submitting and also indicate in your cover letter that the submission is intended for this special issue. Please direct questions about the submission process, or any administrative matters, to the Editorial Office at humanrelationsjournal@tavinstitute.org. Questions about expectations, requirements, and the appropriateness of a topic should be directed to the corresponding guest editor of the special issue: Violetta Khoreva at violetta.khoreva@hanken.fi.