Working With a Digital Human Avatar: Employee–AI Symbiosis Shapes the Double-Edged Sword Effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Awareness in the Hospitality Industry

The adoption of AI-powered digital human avatars (DHAs) in the hospitality and tourism sectors marks a shift toward “human-AI symbiosis,” where AI evolves from being a tool to a coworker involved in decision-making processes. Understanding employees' cognitive and behavioral responses to AI integration is thus crucial. Grounded in the transactional theory of stress and coping, this study conducted two scenario-based experiments to examine the double-edged sword effects of DHA-induced AI awareness on employees' learning behavior and knowledge management. Study 1 reveals that high AI awareness fosters constructive coping behaviors in exploitative and exploratory learning via problem-solving pondering. However, it also triggers destructive coping, promoting AI-directed knowledge withholding and information deception via affective rumination. Study 2 shows that the positive impact of problem-solving pondering on learning diminishes as an organization's digital transformation readiness increases. These findings offer valuable insights for advancing management theory and practical strategies toward fostering human–AI collaboration.