The World Robot Conference 2023 (WRC 2023) was held at the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area from August 16 to 22, 2023. YIN Li, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, along with WAN Gang, chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, attended the conference. On the morning of August 19, a special forum called "Future Work Patterns: Forum on the Application and Integrated Development of Intelligent Technologies in Enterprise Management" and organized by the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University (Tsinghua SEM), convened.

This forum was the first time during the WRC where discussions on technology and organizational management took place. With a focus on organizational management, the forum explored the ways in which generative AI and other artificial intelligence technologies impact future work patterns. Professor LI Ning, chair of the Department of Leadership and Organization Management at Tsinghua SEM, and Professor T. Brad Harris, associate dean of MBAs at HEC Paris, served as the forum's chairpersons.

The special forum agenda at The World Robot Conference 2023 in Beijing.

The forum drew approximately 150 participants, including experts, scholars, students, and professionals from various fields. Among them were Professor QIN Xin, associate dean of the School of Business at Sun Yat-sen University; Professor HE Wei, recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars and faculty member at Nanjing University Business School; Professor WEI Qiang, vice chair of the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Tsinghua SEM; ZHANG Jiayin, associate professor in the Department of Leadership and Organization Management at Tsinghua SEM and Director of the Research Center for Interactive Technology Industry; Professor LI Ning, Flextronics chair professor and department chair of the Department of Leadership and Organization Management; and Jerry Yang, vice president of Thundercomm, an IoT business joint venture between ThunderSoft and Qualcomm. They spoke to share their research findings and industry practices at the forum, which was presided over by LI Ning.

Photo of the forum

LI Ning presides over the forum.

In a speech titled "Artificial Intelligence and Ethics: Universal and Specific," QIN Xin combined the results of various research projects to analyze the societal influence of AI from an ethical perspective. He said while AI may aid in resolving moral dilemmas, it can also introduce ethical risks through conformity effects. QIN said the ethical implications of AI in the future require more attention.

QIN Xin speaks at the forum.

In his speech titled "The Change of Human Resource Management in the Era of Human-Machine Interaction," HE Wei said the AI era poses new challenges to the theory of human resource management. Future research in human resource management needs to focus on issues such as digital transformation and actively embraces AI technology while conducting theoretical and empirical studies. HE provided a detailed explanation of the future research directions in AI application for recruitment, training, performance evaluation, and remuneration.

HE Wei speaks at the forum.

In his speech on the topic of "Artificial Intelligence and the Paradigm Shift in Management Decision-making," WEI Qiang emphasized the importance of improving the interpretability of AI systems. He pointed out the current lack of interpretability in deep learning algorithms, such as model biases in image recognition. WEI called for the integration of management theory in algorithm design to uphold the dominant role of humans in human-machine relationships and to avoid excessive reliance on performance without considering other factors.

WEI Qiang speaks at the forum.

In her speech about "Analyzing Human-Machine Collaboration Models," ZHANG Jiayin said the relationship between humans and AI is not just about substitution or supplementation, but equal collaboration. The core challenge in human-AI collaboration lies in the authorization and delegation of tasks to AI by humans. ZHANG shared her research about strategies, antecedents and team performance in collaboration with AI, as well as analysis of the process and patterns of collaboration with AI.

ZHANG Jiayin speaks at the forum.

In his speech "The Impact of Human-Machine Interaction on Organizational Creativity," LI Ning said although emerging generative AI technologies have a significant impact on knowledge workers, their application effectiveness is still low. Focusing on two key questions, "How does AI perform in real tasks?" and "How do humans interact with AI to accomplish tasks?", LI presented his findings about early collaboration between generative AI and humans. These results included the ability of AI to enhance task innovation and practicality, the fact AI does not necessarily narrow human differences, and the potential existence of significant differences in interaction mechanisms among different AIs. LI emphasized the need for continuous exploration of complex tasks and dynamic processes in human-machine collaboration by academia and the industry to drive organizational creativity.

LI Ning speaks at the forum.

In his speech on the topic of "Empowering Robotics Industry Innovation with Basic Large-scale AI Models," Jerry YANG pointed out that AI technology is driving the evolution of robots towards intelligence. Large-scale models, as the booster in the new wave of AI, ,may replace employees in the long term, but currently they serve as assistants. YANG said deep integration between humans and machines is the trend, but AI products still face significant challenges in terms of technology and acceptance.

Jerry YANG speaks at the forum.

In his concluding remarks, LI Ning said AI technology is reshaping organizational management models, but human-machine collaboration still faces numerous challenges. He called on the industry to be vigilant about the ethical risks of AI and research the theory of human-machine symbiosis and innovative management practices. These efforts are necessary to adapt to the transformative trends coming in the revolution of intelligent technology.

Guests pose for a group photo at the forum.

The forum this time focused on combining organizational management and AI technology applications. Experts and scholars spoke and shared their insights from theoretical and practical perspectives, and promoted exchange and cooperation between academia, industry and the research communities involved in AI technology applications. The forum concluded with a lively exchange and discussion between the attendees and six guest speakers.