How Tech Workers Contend with Hazards of Humanlikeness in Generative AI

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Díaz, Mark, Shelby, Renee, Corbett, Eric, Smart, Andrew
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Díaz, Mark
Shelby, Renee
Corbett, Eric
Smart, Andrew
author_facet Díaz, Mark
Shelby, Renee
Corbett, Eric
Smart, Andrew
contents Generative AI's humanlike qualities are driving its rapid adoption in professional domains. However, this anthropomorphic appeal raises concerns from HCI and responsible AI scholars about potential hazards and harms, such as overtrust in system outputs. To investigate how technology workers navigate these humanlike qualities and anticipate emergent harms, we conducted focus groups with 30 professionals across six job functions (ML engineering, product policy, UX research and design, product management, technology writing, and communications). Our findings reveal an unsettled knowledge environment surrounding humanlike generative AI, where workers' varying perspectives illuminate a range of potential risks for individuals, knowledge work fields, and society. We argue that workers require comprehensive support, including clearer conceptions of ``humanlikeness'' to effectively mitigate these risks. To aid in mitigation strategies, we provide a conceptual map articulating the identified hazards and their connection to conflated notions of ``humanlikeness.''
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_19832
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle How Tech Workers Contend with Hazards of Humanlikeness in Generative AI
Díaz, Mark
Shelby, Renee
Corbett, Eric
Smart, Andrew
Human-Computer Interaction
Generative AI's humanlike qualities are driving its rapid adoption in professional domains. However, this anthropomorphic appeal raises concerns from HCI and responsible AI scholars about potential hazards and harms, such as overtrust in system outputs. To investigate how technology workers navigate these humanlike qualities and anticipate emergent harms, we conducted focus groups with 30 professionals across six job functions (ML engineering, product policy, UX research and design, product management, technology writing, and communications). Our findings reveal an unsettled knowledge environment surrounding humanlike generative AI, where workers' varying perspectives illuminate a range of potential risks for individuals, knowledge work fields, and society. We argue that workers require comprehensive support, including clearer conceptions of ``humanlikeness'' to effectively mitigate these risks. To aid in mitigation strategies, we provide a conceptual map articulating the identified hazards and their connection to conflated notions of ``humanlikeness.''
title How Tech Workers Contend with Hazards of Humanlikeness in Generative AI
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.19832