Abstract:

With ongoing breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) technology and its reshaping of the workplace, traditional management paradigms face unprecedented challenges. AI has transformed the way information circulates and amplified the visibility of individual contributions. To thrive in this new context, established management theories must be revised and expanded better to support collaborative growth between organizations and their employees. The rapid evolution of AI has also precipitated significant psychological and behavioral shifts among knowledge workers, reshaping their perceptions of the modern work environment and their expectations for organizational development. Yet research on the mechanisms by which AI influences knowledge workers remains fragmented. This study explores the empowering and activating pathways of AI for knowledge workers in terms of “agency” and “self-actualization” through both instrumental and humanistic perspectives.

In the first stream of this research, we focus on the instrumental effects of AI on the creativity of knowledge workers. By providing abundant information and substituting for certain cognitive processes, AI empowers employees and makes it easier for them to demonstrate creative performance. Study 1, grounded in information integration theory, investigates how the frequency of AI use enhances knowledge worker creativity through a sequential mediation of information acquisition richness and knowledge integration, while testing employees’ domain-specific expertise as a boundary condition. Study 2 draws on creativity process theory to explore the “double‐edged” role of AI use, i.e., how AI use reshapes both divergent and convergent thinking and, in turn, affects creative outcomes. It further examines whether the level of interpersonal interaction at work moderates these indirect effects.

The second research stream investigates AI’s humanistic effects on knowledge workers. By stimulating future‐oriented reflection, AI activates employees’ consideration of their own development trajectories. Drawing on work embeddedness theory, we distinguish between push factors—unfavorable job conditions that increase turnover intention—and pull factors—favorable job attributes that strengthen retention intention. Study 3, informed by protection motivation theory, examines how frequent AI use fosters knowledge workers’ turnover intention by diminishing perceived career development prospects, and it tests employees’ self‐actualization needs as a moderator. Study 4, extending work embeddedness theory, evaluates whether an organization’s implementation of process and product digitization influences knowledge workers’ turnover intention via changes in job enjoyment and career prospect perceptions, with employees’ digital skill proficiency as a boundary condition. Together, these studies aim to illuminate the pathways through which knowledge workers achieve both agency and self‐actualization in the AI era.

In summary, this study embraces the core principle of “employee-centric human-AI symbiosis” and is dedicated to fostering the harmony and optimization of human-AI interactions. By conceptualizing AI’s informational role and its dual influence on employees’ cognitive capabilities, it offers fresh insights into the creativity process theory for knowledge workers in the AI era. Furthermore, by examining how AI-driven empowerment reshapes employees’ psychological needs and their perceived well-being at work, and how these shifts affect turnover and retention decisions, it enriches and extends existing research on effective collaboration between AI and knowledge workers. Ultimately, our findings aim to equip organizations with actionable strategies for leveraging human-AI synergy, enabling them to more precisely understand employees’ psychological states and to devise targeted strategies for talent retention, thereby better addressing AI-related challenges and achieving sustainable development.

Key words: knowledge workers, artificial intelligence (AI), AI usage, enterprise digitalization, creativity, turnover intention