# How Knowledge Workers Think Generative AI Will (Not) Transform Their Industries

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.06778 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.06778/

## Key facts

- Cited by 30 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 10 Oct 2023.

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 30)

- [Contrastive Explanations That Anticipate Human Misconceptions Can Improve Human Decision-Making Skills](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.04253/) (2024)
- [Generative AI in Knowledge Work: Design Implications for Data Navigation and Decision-Making](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.18419/) (2025)
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- [Generative AI Uses and Risks for Knowledge Workers in a Science Organization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.16577/) (2025)
- [Survey of User Interface Design and Interaction Techniques in Generative AI Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.22370/) (2024)
- [Unraveling Human-AI Teaming: A Review and Outlook](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.05755/) (2025)
- [Privy: Envisioning and Mitigating Privacy Risks for Consumer-facing AI Product Concepts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.23525/) (2025)
- [AI-Enhanced Sensemaking: Exploring the Design of a Generative AI-Based Assistant to Support Genetic Professionals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.15444/) (2024)
- [Novice Developers' Perspectives on Adopting LLMs for Software Development: A Systematic Literature Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.07556/) (2025)
- [AI Rivalry as a Craft: How Resisting and Embracing Generative AI Reshape Writing Professions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.09901/) (2025)
- [Exploring Collaborative GenAI Agents in Synchronous Group Settings: Eliciting Team Perceptions and Design Considerations for the Future of Work](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.14779/) (2025)
- ["If You're Very Clever, No One Knows You've Used It": The Social Dynamics of Developing Generative AI Literacy in the Workplace](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.01386/) (2026)
- [What if AI systems weren't chatbots?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.07896/) (2026)
- [What happens when reviewers receive AI feedback in their reviews?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.13817/) (2026)
- [AI-Mediated Feedback Improves Student Revisions: A Randomized Trial with FeedbackWriter in a Large Undergraduate Course](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.16820/) (2026)
- [Do Multimodal Large Language Models Understand Welding?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.16537/) (2025)
- [AI in Money Matters](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.07393/) (2025)
- ["Just a strange pic": Evaluating 'safety' in GenAI Image safety annotation tasks from diverse annotators' perspectives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.16033/) (2025)
- [Deciding how to respond: A deliberative framework to guide policymaker responses to AI systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.03666/) (2025)
- [How Generative AI Empowers Attackers and Defenders Across the Trust & Safety Landscape](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.06033/) (2025)
- ["Better Ask for Forgiveness than Permission": Practices and Policies of AI Disclosure in Freelance Work](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.07459/) (2026)
- [AI Phenomenology for Understanding Human-AI Experiences Across Eras](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.09020/) (2026)
- ["I Just Need GPT to Refine My Prompts": Rethinking Onboarding and Help-Seeking with Generative 3D Modeling Tools](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.29118/) (2026)
- [Upskilling with Generative AI: Practices and Challenges for Freelance Knowledge Workers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.27231/) (2026)
- [From Tool to Agent: How Worker Needs Reorganize Across the Agentic Roles of Workplace AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.03078/) (2026)
- [AI Adoption Across a Multinational Workforce: Sociotechnical Conditions for GenAI Acceptance in Human Resources](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.17887/) (2026)
- [Unanticipated Effects of Generative AI on Expertise Pathways and Performance Perception in System Administration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.28650/) (2026)
- [Method, Mind, and Morality: How People Make Sense of Artificial Intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.24748/) (2026)
- [CompanionSim: Synthetic Data for Evaluating Anthropomorphism in Human-AI Relationships](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.00250/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Generative AI is expected to have transformative effects in multiple knowledge industries. To better understand how knowledge workers expect generative AI may affect their industries in the future, we conducted participatory research workshops for seven different industries, with a total of 54 participants across three US cities. We describe participants' expectations of generative AI's impact, including a dominant narrative that cut across the groups' discourse: participants largely envision generative AI as a tool to perform menial work, under human review. Participants do not generally anticipate the disruptive changes to knowledge industries currently projected in common media and academic narratives. Participants do however envision generative AI may amplify four social forces currently shaping their industries: deskilling, dehumanization, disconnection, and disinformation. We describe these forces, and then we provide additional detail regarding attitudes in specific knowledge industries. We conclude with a discussion of implications and research challenges for the HCI community.