Augmenting Expert Cognition in the Age of Generative AI: Insights from Document-Centric Knowledge Work

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Siu, Alexa, Fok, Raymond
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Siu, Alexa
Fok, Raymond
author_facet Siu, Alexa
Fok, Raymond
contents As Generative AI (GenAI) capabilities expand, understanding how to preserve and develop human expertise while leveraging AI's benefits becomes increasingly critical. Through empirical studies in two contexts -- survey article authoring in scholarly research and business document sensemaking -- we examine how domain expertise shapes patterns of AI delegation and information processing among knowledge workers. Our findings reveal that while experts welcome AI assistance with repetitive information foraging tasks, they prefer to retain control over complex synthesis and interpretation activities that require nuanced domain understanding. We identify implications for designing GenAI systems that support expert cognition. These include enabling selective delegation aligned with expertise levels, preserving expert agency over critical analytical tasks, considering varying levels of domain expertise in system design, and supporting verification mechanisms that help users calibrate their reliance while deepening expertise. We discuss the inherent tension between reducing cognitive load through automation and maintaining the deliberate practice necessary for expertise development. Lastly, we suggest approaches for designing systems that provide metacognitive support, moving beyond simple task automation toward actively supporting expertise development. This work contributes to our understanding of how to design AI systems that augment rather than diminish human expertise in document-centric workflows.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_24334
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Augmenting Expert Cognition in the Age of Generative AI: Insights from Document-Centric Knowledge Work
Siu, Alexa
Fok, Raymond
Human-Computer Interaction
As Generative AI (GenAI) capabilities expand, understanding how to preserve and develop human expertise while leveraging AI's benefits becomes increasingly critical. Through empirical studies in two contexts -- survey article authoring in scholarly research and business document sensemaking -- we examine how domain expertise shapes patterns of AI delegation and information processing among knowledge workers. Our findings reveal that while experts welcome AI assistance with repetitive information foraging tasks, they prefer to retain control over complex synthesis and interpretation activities that require nuanced domain understanding. We identify implications for designing GenAI systems that support expert cognition. These include enabling selective delegation aligned with expertise levels, preserving expert agency over critical analytical tasks, considering varying levels of domain expertise in system design, and supporting verification mechanisms that help users calibrate their reliance while deepening expertise. We discuss the inherent tension between reducing cognitive load through automation and maintaining the deliberate practice necessary for expertise development. Lastly, we suggest approaches for designing systems that provide metacognitive support, moving beyond simple task automation toward actively supporting expertise development. This work contributes to our understanding of how to design AI systems that augment rather than diminish human expertise in document-centric workflows.
title Augmenting Expert Cognition in the Age of Generative AI: Insights from Document-Centric Knowledge Work
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.24334