Artificial Motivation? The Influence of Artificial Intelligence on Motivation in the Financial Industry

Sammanfattning: Technology is a driver in society and recently artificial intelligence (AI) has become a discussion for debate. The spreading of popular fiction has in some instances misguided the views of the general public, giving rise to different beliefs in the impact it may have. A niched area of artificial intelligence is machine learning, which uses algorithms and models to make predictions and perform specific tasks, has been growing in industries such as finance. Studies regarding artificial intelligence lacks extended overlap into management, present studies speaking mainly of areas of implementation or technical aspects. This interpretative, abductive-inductive study aims to unravel how the implementation of machine learning AI potentially affects motivation amongst professionals in the finance industry, applying the theory of Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation in addition to Self-Determination Theory. Using a qualitative approach, six semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed. In total, the results suggest that machine learning AI had an ambiguous influence on motivation in some areas, such as autonomy, but overall effect seemed positive.