Capturing Emotions in an Era of AI: From Experiments to Ethnography
Type
conference contribution
Date Issued
2025-07-27
Author(s)
;
Mehran Bahmani
;
Williams Woolley Anita
;
Lazar, Moran
;
Cappellaro, Giulia
;
Van Zelderen Anand
;
Lifshitz-assaf Hila
Abstract
Emotions are critical to understanding and managing organizational dynamics, whether in traditional human teams or in contexts involving advanced technologies. Extant research demonstrates that working with algorithms can elicit strong feelings such as stress or frustration. While leaders may at times prefer to sidestep emotions and dismiss them as “irrational,” in doing so they ignore the important signals emotions convey to their peril as well as the unintended negative consequences that unregulated emotions may cause. This panel symposium will engage an interdisciplinary group of scholars pioneering the study of emotions around AI in an interactive discussion. We will discuss (1) the methodological and ethical challenges associated with measuring emotions around AI and in vulnerable groups; (2) different qualitative and quantitative approaches on how to measure emotion and (3) provide an outlook on how emotional dynamics will change due to the increasing technological advancements of AI in the coming years. Scholars attending our symposium will gain a multidisciplinary understanding of the current challenges and methods for studying emotions and AI, as well as learn about appropriate ways to measure emotions around AI. Applying the gained knowledge in their future studies will enable management scholars to study how to preserve human-centric qualities such as emotional well-being, empathy and dignity when organizational stakeholders team-up with AI.
Publisher
Academy of Management Conference