Trio of human, old and new copilots: Collaborative accountability of human, manuals/standards, and artificial intelligence (AI)

Abstract

Humans have developed and employed manuals to systematically organize, standardize, and transfer knowledge for decision-making in organizations. These manuals and standards have served as a "conventional copilot" for humans’ intellectual activities, taking the form of collected references or operational procedures. Recently, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a "novel copilot" that aids humans in organizations. Given the two non-human supports, this article aims to redefine the relational dynamics among the trio (human, manuals/standards, and AI). It analyzes and suggests that, rather than the new copilot (AI) making the old one (manuals/standards) obsolete, the trio needs to collaborate and complement one another to sustain accountabilities in terms of contingency, competence, and stewardship.