How does working with GenAI change people?

This is precisely the question addressed in the current special issue of the Business & Information Systems Engineering Journal. The authors show that GenAI no longer functions merely as a tool, but can already be regarded as a collaborative actor that is changing us on both an individual and societal level. These connections are illustrated using metaphors from Lewis Carroll's “Alice in Wonderland.” The “leap into the rabbit hole” transports us into a surreal, confusing, and enigmatic situation. But what can we learn from Alice's reckless pursuit of the new and unknown? What changes in humans can we already observe with the arrival of the “GenAI rabbits” in our world? And what forces await us in Wonderland as we venture deeper into the rabbit hole?

In the real world, these “GenAI rabbits” are called Microsoft Copilot or Replika and can offer people practical support at the micro level, e.g., with programming, as well as emotional support. However, this collaboration between individuals and GenAI does not occur in isolation, but is integrated at the macro level in networked socio-technical networks.(GenAI Workforces & GenAI Careforces).

The editorial and more about Alice in “GenAI Wonderland” can be found here:

Adam, M., Bauer, K., Jussupow, E., Stein, M.-K., Benlian, A. (2025) Generating Tomorrow’s Me: How Collaborating with Generative AI Changes Humans.

Bus Inf Syst Eng (2025). Link