Higher Sem. in Bilingualism. Raoufi & McMillan: Agency and Epistemic Authority in AI-Mediated Workplace Interaction

This seminar presents work in progress based on naturally occurring, video-recorded interactions in multilingual workplaces in Sweden. We examine managers’ use of AI to prepare written instructions and communicate with employees. The cases come from a graphic design firm, a car sales and repair company, and a summer restaurant.

In each case, a manager initiates the activity and assigns AI a role in carrying it out. We focus on the relationship between managerial position and the practical ability to direct an activity. How is managerial agency exercised when parts of a task are delegated to AI? How do AI’s contributions affect what participants can do next, and how do participants respond when those contributions do not meet their requests?

The analysis follows exchanges with AI within the ongoing workplace activity, considering participants’ access to its spoken and on-screen contributions and what this means for participation. A manager may know the procedure being explained, while an employee may be better placed to answer a question about their own circumstances. Managerial position therefore does not by itself establish whose knowledge carries authority. We examine how participants make their knowledge available through AI and assess its contributions, including the difficulties of assessing translations into a language they do not understand.

Azar Raoufi

Donald McMillan