How does AI knowledge empowerment influence innovative use of AI? The moderating roles of work and AI technological uncertainties

Purpose Promoting employees’ innovative use of artificial intelligence (AI) is critical for organizations to gain benefits from the implemented AI. By employing the job demands-resources (JD-R) model as the overarching theoretical lens, this study focuses on how employees' perceptions of AI augmentation knowledge as an empowering resource (i.e. AI knowledge empowerment) affect their innovative use behaviors of AI, as well as how uncertainties in work scenarios (i.e. work uncertainty) and AI (i.e. AI technological uncertainty) moderate this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from a longitudinal survey of 443 employees in a large power business company in China. Using hierarchical multiple regression to test the research model. Findings Results showed that AI knowledge empowerment exerts a positive impact on innovative use of AI. Furthermore, we found that work uncertainty strengthens the positive effect of AI knowledge empowerment on innovative use of AI, while AI technological uncertainty weakens the positive relationship between AI knowledge empowerment and innovative use of AI. Originality/value This study provides an in-depth understanding of the effect of AI augmentation knowledge from the perspective of psychological empowerment on innovative use behavior and how the effect varies across different types of work and AI technological uncertainties based on the JD-R model.