Investigating Writing Professionals' Relationships with Generative AI: How Combined Perceptions of Rivalry and Collaboration Shape Work Practices and Outcomes

TL;DR

This study explores how professional writers' perceptions of rivalry and collaboration with generative AI influence their work practices and outcomes, highlighting the importance of balancing these attitudes for long-term success.

Contribution

It introduces a nuanced understanding of how rivalry and collaboration jointly affect writing professionals' practices and outcomes with generative AI.

Findings

Rivalry correlates with relational crafting and skill maintenance.

Collaboration links to task crafting, productivity, and satisfaction.

High rivalry and collaboration together improve work outcomes.

Abstract

This study investigates how professional writers' complex relationship with GenAI shapes their work practices and outcomes. Through a cross-sectional survey with writing professionals (n=403) in diverse roles, we show that collaboration and rivalry orientation are associated with differences in work practices and outcomes. Rivalry is primarily associated with relational crafting and skill maintenance. Collaboration is primarily associated with task crafting, productivity, and satisfaction, at the cost of long-term skill deterioration. Combination of the orientations (high rivalry and high collaboration) reconciles these differences, while boosting the association with the outcomes. Our findings argue for a balanced approach where high levels of rivalry and collaboration are essential to shape work practices and generate outcomes aimed at the long-term success of the job. We present key design implications on how to increase friction (rivalry) and reduce over-reliance (collaboration) to achieve a more balanced relationship with GenAI.