The impact of AI on the work community — threat or opportunity for cooperation?

AI is shaping the way teams work and learn together. What happens to cooperation, trust and new employees?

The psychological effects of AI in organisations present both risks and opportunities. Leadership plays a decisive role in determining which way the balance tips. The effects can be divided into four perspectives: cooperation, learning, trust and the role of new employees.

Is the age of AI threatening workplace cooperation?

As the use of AI becomes increasingly common, turning to AI for answers may replace consulting colleagues. This may reduce interpersonal interaction, weaken the sense of community, and lead to a situation where a team exists only on paper, not in everyday work.

On the other hand, AI can enhance cooperation; it quickly provides information and new perspectives, acts as a shared knowledge base and facilitator to help teams find solutions more efficiently. This can make cooperation more efficient.

How do we learn together?

As AI performs more and more tasks and provides ready-made answers, there is a risk that learning will deteriorate. Tacit knowledge is no longer shared among team members. If people no longer share their knowledge based on experience, the development of collective competence will slow down. Responsibility for teaching is transferred from people to machines.

However, AI makes information easier to access and can also make learning easier and faster. AI can provide customized learning experiences and explain complicated matters in a clear, step-by-step manner with more patience than a person might. Individually supported skills training and learning can provide a significant competitive advantage.

What happens to trust?

Uncertainty about the nature and future of work brought about by AI can erode trust between people. When people don't meet and rely on each other as before, the experience of closeness and familiarity can be impaired. Employees may feel uncertain about their own significance, which can weaken team cohesion.

On the other hand, AI can lower the threshold for participation and encourage more people to bring out their ideas when routine tasks are done automatically. This can free up time for deeper reflection and support mutual trust.

Will AI replace new employees?

There is a risk that opportunities for junior employees will diminish if AI takes over traditional entry-level responsibilities. The work at the entry level is critically important for both the individual and the community, as it is during these stages that the basics of work are learned and the foundation for acquiring competence is laid. This can make it more difficult for young people to enter working life and weaken the development of the organisation, as new talented people enter the system less often than before.

On the other hand, AI can help new employees get up to speed faster by making onboarding and learning more efficient. Skilled new employees can increase their productivity faster than ever before. The key is the organisation’s ability to ensure that new employees are offered meaningful tasks and opportunities to develop alongside AI instead of being replaced by AI.

The blog post was written by Organisational Psychologist Pekka Tölli from Mehiläinen.