How Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Workplaces
Written by:
East Carolina University®
• Sep 22, 2025
Human-centered artificial intelligence (HCAI) is already transforming workplaces around the world, so its connection to workplace behavior is crucial. Unlike traditional AI, HCAI is designed to be intuitive and adaptable. Professionals who understand workplace behavior can leverage it to be creative, support their workflows, and grow to fit their work styles.
To learn more, check out the infographic created by East Carolina University® Online’s Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology Flight Path program.
What Is Human-Centered AI?
HCAI is a development approach that prioritizes human needs, values, and capabilities when designing AI systems. These systems are meant to enhance human capabilities, not replace them.
HCAI Attributes
HCAI uses both human science and detailed qualitative data to create accessible, usable, and beneficial business experiences and uses human input to improve and provide an effective experience. HCAI also focuses on understanding and respecting human needs, unlike traditional AI. It considers ethical issues such as privacy, fairness and transparency, bias, accountability, and explainability.
How HCAI Improves Upon Traditional AI
HCAI improves the usability of traditional AI by emphasizing user experience (UX). It also increases personalization by adapting to varied preferences and needs. HCAI instills trust and safety by helping with adoption and use, and prevents harm with its human-centered approach. It also improves upon traditional AI’s ethics because developers consider ethical issues during the design process.
Human-Centered AI in the Workplace
The HCAI market is growing exponentially, with one forecast projecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 22% from 2023 to 2033. Virtual assistants and chatbots are the top players in the space today, but other HCAI uses—such as risk assessment and fraud detection, healthcare diagnostics, and human resources (HR) decision-making—are growing.
How HCAI Helps Businesses
HCAI improves decision-making by combining human input and machine learning. It also enables scalability by scaling human thought from simple to complex processes and across departments, teams, or regions without additional HR spend. Additionally, it helps businesses by enriching software and products. For example, HCAI can build products and services that inform, satisfy, enrich, and reward by analyzing human behavior and subconscious patterns. It can also enhance employee satisfaction when it automates repetitive tasks, enabling employees to focus on the strategic and creative aspects of their jobs. This fosters innovation and enables humans and AI to learn and adapt together, providing opportunities for creative problem-solving and strategic initiatives.
HCAI in the Field
HCAI can be used in several fields and industries. In healthcare, it can evaluate forms to organize data, identify patterns, help diagnose patients, and find new drug applications.
In HR, it can reduce biases in the hiring process by assessing job-related data in applications and analyzing and summarizing employee feedback.
The auto industry can use HCAI to enhance driver safety and comfort, adapt to individual driving styles, provide intuitive assistance, and use sensors to gather data about the car’s surroundings.
The education industry can use HCAI to help teachers track student performance and design effective lesson plans. It can also adapt online learning experiences to individual students.
In customer service, HCAI can provide empathetic and personalized customer experiences via chatbots and automated systems, and it can adapt responses to better serve different customers.
Psychology of Human-Centered AI: Inputs and Impacts
Psychological principles are important to consider when designing HCAI as well as when evaluating the impact it has on those who use it in the workplace.
The Psychological Inputs to HCAI
When developing HCAI, developers need to focus on trust and empathy. They can do this by considering fairness, justice, autonomy, and well-being in HCAI design, integrating empathy into the system, and ensuring that users can trust that the program has integrity.
Developers should also consider ethical inputs. A total of 20% of developers consider ethics and social impact to be important considerations in HCAI design. Aspects of social impact that should be incorporated into HCAI development include having an understanding of user needs, creating meaningful connections, and focusing on shared goals.
Developers must also understand their own inherent bias. They can work with multidisciplinary teams to identify and prevent bias in system design. Bias can enter at any stage—data collection, data annotation, model design and evaluation, or model deployment and monitoring.
Psychological Impacts of HCAI
Psychology doesn’t just affect the development of HCAI. It also affects the users. For example, HCAI as a supplement rather than a replacement enables users to approach it with positivity. It can help with engagement and motivation by enabling creativity and control, both of which motivate workplace users.
HCAI users can improve their critical thinking skills by engaging in discussion and asking questions, rather than providing answers, which encourages critical thinking. Balancing automation with human control demands critical thinking.
Users can also increase their self-confidence through personalized interactions and simulations. HCAI may help workers ask better questions and make stronger decisions.
Learn About Workplace Behavior
Workplaces are already incorporating HCAI into their workflows. However, understanding the psychological principles involved in designing the technology, as well as how the technology impacts those who interact with it, can help ensure that it’s a sustainable and effective tool. Professionals who understand workplace behavior and motivations will be well prepared to meet the opportunities and challenges of HCAI in the workplace.
Sources
Cognizant, Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence
Crescendo, “Human-Centric AI in 2025: Real-Life Scenarios With Examples”
Interaction Design Foundation, Human-Centered AI (HCAI)
Issues in Science and Technology, “Human-Centered AI”
Lenovo, What Is Human-Centered AI (HCAI)?
LinkedIn, “Human-Centered AI: How Psychological Insight Shapes the Future of Technology”
LXT, What Is Human Centered AI?
Market.us Scoop, “Human-Centered AI Market to Hit USD 68.8 Billion by 2033”
SS&C Blue Prism, What Is Human-Centered AI?
Toyota, Toyota Research Institute Unveils New Generative AI Technique for Vehicle Design
Zendesk, “Human-Centered AI for HR: What It Is + Why It Matters”
