Generative AI and Changes to Knowledge Work

The application of generative AI (genAI) tools has led to widespread speculation about the implications of technological change for the future of knowledge work. This article illuminates how the use of genAI affects work practices in the fields of IT programming, science, and coaching based on expert interviews and a quantitative survey of users of genAI. Specifically, we examine perceptions of skills, creativity, and authenticity, which we regard as key qualities of knowledge work. Our results belie the expectation that human expertise and skills lose importance: on the contrary, debates about and experiences with genAI help clarify and revalue the core of a profession's identity. Our study thus highlights that professions consist of more than the sum of single work tasks and contain experiential and tacit knowledge about how to frame, prepare, and interpret work steps, which are difficult for machines to replicate. However, there are concerns that professions could be hollowed out and, especially, that the quality of products and services could deteriorate as automated "good-enough-versions" of former offers become commonplace.