Study finds managers catch 18% fewer errors when an AI tool is framed

A new study by Emma Wiles, a business professor at Boston University, reveals that marketing artificial intelligence agents as digital employees decreases human performance. When AI is framed as a coworker rather than software, managers feel less personally responsible for the final output.

The research, which surveyed 1,261 managers, showed that participants caught 18% fewer errors when reviewing work from a supposed AI employee instead of a chatbot. Additionally, people were 44% more likely to escalate questionable work to a manager instead of correcting the errors themselves.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu criticized this branding trend, stating that AI should be optimized to improve human capabilities rather than replace them. Treating AI tools as coworkers sets unrealistic expectations and harms workplace accountability.