Perceptions of the ethicality of using artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace

Purpose: This study aims to examine how observers’ ethical perceptions of using artificial intelligence (AI) to complete a work task in an organisational context are shaped by the status of the individual who uses AI and by the valence of the event that AI is used to address. Design/methodology/approach: To test the hypotheses regarding the ethical perceptions of the use of AI in the workplace, the authors conducted an online experiment in which participants read a hypothetical workplace scenario and then assessed the ethicality of using AI to complete the task within the scenario. Findings: The results showed that observers’ ethical perceptions of an individual using AI in the workplace were influenced by the valence of the event AI was used to address, but not by the status of the AI user. In addition, exploratory mediation analyses indicated that the effects of event valence on ethical perceptions of AI use were mediated by perceptions of the AI user’s evasion of responsibility but not by their nondisclosure of AI use. Originality/value: AI, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has become increasingly popular in the workplace, but the ethical implications of using this fast-growing technology are not well understood. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research represents one of the first attempts in the literature to add to this understanding by showing that ethical perceptions of using AI in the workplace are influenced, at least in part, by contextual factors, such as the valence of the event that AI is used to address.