WorkThe story, in brief
AI agents are not your “coworkers”
Your company is calling it a 'coworker.' MIT says that's the wrong mental model—and it matters for how you deploy AI agents.
The KeyNews take
Why it matters
As companies anthropomorphize AI agents by naming them and treating them as team members, there's a critical gap between how organizations frame AI and how these systems actually function. This piece challenges the narrative that's driving enterprise AI adoption decisions.
The key facts
4 to knowPublished in MIT Technology Review's The Algorithm newsletter
Focus on organizational framing and adoption language around AI agents
Challenges anthropomorphization of AI tools in workplace settings
Explores the gap between how companies market AI agents vs. their actual capabilities and limitations
Go to the source
MIT Technology Reviewtechnologyreview.com
Publisher excerpt: This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. Imagine coming in to work to learn that a new underling will report to you. The worker is not a person but an AI tool—one that your company nonetheless calls…