Beyond Autonomous Systems: Reframing Artificial Intelligence as a Relational Organizing Capability in Contemporary Organizations

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most impactful developments of the modern businesses, management and coordination systems. Previous studies often conceptualize AI as a technological entity that has independent capabilities and impacts on organizational processes. This article proposes an alternative line of thinking that sees AI as a relational organization capacity that is produced from the interaction between human actors, algorithmic systems, data infrastructures, institutional arrangements, and sociotechnical practices. The paper develops a posthumanist perspective on ontology, a sociomaterial approach, a relational organization theory, and digital organizing literature to suggest that AI capacities are not only emergent in computational systems, but also in the continuous processes of human algorithmic interaction. It builds a capability centred framework, focusing on relational connectivity, distributed agency, sociotechnical co-production, performativity and continuous emergence as key dimensions of AI enabled organizing. The article adds to the ongoing discussions in today's organization studies, management and information systems literature by proposing an ontological shift from an entity based understanding of AI to a relational and process oriented understanding. The paper also gives some hints for further research on algorithmic management, organizational intelligence, digital transformation, human AI co-working, governance, ethics, and organizational redesign.