AI–professional hybrid in professional service firms: Fear, hope, and the rise of new professional roles

Sarwar, A ORCID: 0000-0001-5411-0991 and Faulconbridge, J (2026) AI–professional hybrid in professional service firms: Fear, hope, and the rise of new professional roles In: Hybrid Working and AI the Impact on Organizational Development. Taylor & Francis, pp. 89-104. ISBN 9781003647843

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Summary

Recent technological developments, such as artificial intelligence (AI), are not only affecting the way professional work is performed but also the organisational, institutional and societal structures, and individual-level expectations and understanding of self as a professional. Whilst optimists argue for a technological future with better jobs and work arrangements, pessimists foresee a future without meaningful work, signalling an end of professions. Historically, these professions have protected their boundaries, and analytical and expert decision-making tasks have remained strictly within their professional jurisdiction. Yet with the increasing capability of AI to automate these complex tasks, professionals are faced with a challenge to preserve their status as expert service providers. In the face of this emerging ‘human–AI symbiosis’, professionals are forced to respond to this new work reality where AI becomes part of the workforce. However, these micro-level implications of AI-led change for employees remain an under-researched area, with questions about the impact of AI on hybrid decision-making in knowledge-intensive professions. Contributing to this gap, this chapter highlights how professionals respond to the new realities of AI-enabled hybrid decision-making and professional working. Focusing on accounting and legal professional service firms (PSFs) in the UK, we argue that AI as a new organisational coworker introduces a different kind of human–machine hybrid. We highlight that as the professionals engaged with AI, they reconfigure their professional work, practices, and jurisdictions along the way due to this new hybridity, which is also supplemented by the rise of new professional roles in the PSFs.

Item Type:	Chapter
Uncontrolled Keywords:	35 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services, 3507 Strategy, Management and Organisational Behaviour, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, Networking and Information Technology R&D (NITRD), 8.1 Organisation and delivery of services, Generic health relevance
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > Faculty of Humanities & Social Sci (All T&R Staff) Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Management Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Management > Operations and Supply Chain Management Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Management > School of Management (T&R Staff)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	03 Mar 2026 08:54
Last Modified:	07 Jul 2026 07:11
DOI:	10.4324/9781003647843-8
Related Websites:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3197314
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