Human–AI Collaboration and Intelligent Automation: The Role of AI Readiness and Digital Skills

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly progressing and it has changed the way organizations function.Artificial Intelligence (AI) has completely revolutionized the way organizations operate, providing intelligent automation and new ways to collaborate with intelligent systems. The effectiveness of using AI-powered technologies then, however, relies as much on the readiness of the employees and organizations to adapt to and work alongside AI as it does on the technology itself. This research aimed to examine how AI readiness and digital skills are contributing to human-AI partnerships and intelligent automation in the workplace. The qualitative multiple case study design was used to analyze organizations that had implemented AI related automation technologies. The selection of multiple organizations was done by purposive sampling and the data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with employees, managers, information technology specialists, and AI implementation professionals. Data triangulation was also complemented by examining organizational documents and AI implementation reports. The collected data were analysed by thematic and cross-case analysis to find out similarities and differences among the selected organisations. The study examined organizational readiness for AI adoption, employee digital readiness, adaptation to AI systems, and how to build effective human–AI collaboration. The results helped gain a better understanding of Human and Organizational Factors related to Intelligent Automation. The researchers emphasized the importance of AI readiness and digital skills in building trust, enhancing employee adaptability, enabling employees to collaborate meaningfully with AI systems and successfully adopt intelligent automation. This research provided practical guidance for organizational leaders and managers aiming to implement policies that focus on the human component to adopt AI and transform their workforce.