Agency in Human-AI Collaboration

A recurring theme is the shift from viewing artificial intelligence as mere tools or threats to seeing AI agents as genuine participants and collaborators in human work. The concept prioritizes agency over humanness in collaborative contexts—what matters is whether an agent (human or machine) meaningfully contributes to collective goals. This philosophy underpins projects like Bots with an Attitude, Lefthoek, and Rizom, where AI agents automate routine tasks, manage knowledge, and participate in community processes as equals. The emphasis is on designing ethical, creative, and intelligent systems that respect community values, enhance human agency, and support distributed teams. The notion of transactive memory systems is introduced, showing how teams (including AI agents) rely on specialization, credibility, and coordination rather than simply sharing all information.