Generative Artificial Intelligence: Evolving Technology, Growing Societal Impact, and Opportunities for Information Systems Research
本文从社会技术视角审视生成式人工智能的独特特征，梳理其从符号主义到连接主义的演进，为信息系统研究者提出未来研究方向，帮助理解该技术对商业和社会的变革潜力。
Abstract The continuing, explosive developments in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), built on large language models and related algorithms, has led to much excitement and speculation about the potential impact of this new technology. Claims include artificial intelligence (AI) being poised to revolutionize business and society and dramatically change personal life. However, it is not clear how this technology, with its significantly distinct features from past AI technologies, has transformative potential or how researchers in information systems should react to it. In this paper, we consider the evolving and emerging trends of AI in order to examine its present and predict its future impacts. Many existing papers on GenAI are either too technical for most information systems researchers or lack the depth needed to appreciate the potential impacts of GenAI. We, therefore, attempt to bridge the technical and organizational communities of GenAI from a system-oriented sociotechnical perspective. Specifically, we explore the unique features of GenAI, which are rooted in the continued change from symbolism to connectionism, and the deep systemic and inherent properties of human-AI ecosystems. We retrace the evolution of AI that proceeded the level of adoption, adaption, and use found today, in order to propose future research on various impacts of GenAI in both business and society within the context of information systems research. Our efforts are intended to contribute to the creation of a well-structured research agenda in the information systems community to support innovative strategies and operations enabled by this new wave of AI.