黑料社

Profile

Dave Roberts
PhD Researcher | Generative AI, Knowledge Work and Organisational Adoption | AI Systems Architect | Organisational Transformation Leader

About Me

I am a PhD researcher at 黑料社 University Business School examining how generative AI is changing the organisation and experience of knowledge work.

Alongside my doctoral research, I design, test and evaluate AI-enabled workflows and agentic systems. I bring together hands-on AI practice, qualitative research and almost a decade of senior operational leadership.

My work focuses on the organisational realities behind AI adoption: how technical capability becomes useful practice, how work and responsibility are redistributed, and how organisations can improve performance while protecting professional judgement, job quality and meaningful human control.

Current Research

My doctoral research examines how organisational adoption of generative AI reconfigures the labour process of knowledge work.

Informed by Labour Process Theory, the research explores how organisations redesign workflows around generative AI, redistribute tasks between people and AI systems, and adapt management, coordination, supervision and decision-making.

Particular areas of interest include:

- Changes to skill, autonomy and professional judgement
- Human–AI task allocation and workflow redesign
- New forms of managerial coordination and control
- The effect of AI adoption on professional identity and job quality
- Organisational barriers, resistance and implementation challenges
- The emergence of AI intermediaries who connect organisational needs with practical AI systems

The research uses an exploratory qualitative approach, drawing on expert interviews, practitioner insight and thematic analysis.

Applied AI and Organisational Adoption

Alongside the PhD, I work hands-on with AI-enabled workflows and agentic systems, including through my work on Ortelias, an AI-driven development-land intelligence platform.

My work includes designing and evaluating systems that support research, analysis, knowledge management, coordination and operational decision-making. This practitioner experience provides direct insight into the challenges organisations face when moving from experimentation to responsible and effective AI adoption.

My interest is not simply in what AI can do technically, but in how organisations can integrate it successfully into real roles, workflows and decision-making structures.

Leadership and Organisational Transformation

I have over a decade of senior leadership experience within specialist education. This includes leading the turnaround of a school from an Ofsted judgement of Inadequate to Good.

This work involved organisational redesign, workforce development, governance, service improvement and leading people through sustained change. It also required the development of stronger professional cultures, clearer systems and more effective approaches to staff learning and organisational performance.

This experience continues to shape my research and AI practice. It gives me a practical understanding of how people experience organisational change – and why implementation depends on leadership, trust and professional engagement as much as it does on technology.

Industry and Public Engagement

I am interested in working with researchers, organisational leaders and practitioners exploring how generative AI is changing work.

My work connects research, organisational strategy and practical implementation. I am particularly interested in collaborations that examine how organisations can adopt AI responsibly, redesign knowledge work effectively and create systems that improve both organisational performance and the quality of people’s working lives.

Research interests

• Generative AI and the future of work
• Organisational AI adoption
• Human–AI workflow design and task redistribution
• Skill, autonomy and professional judgement
• AI-mediated management, coordination and control
• AI agents, evaluation and governance
• Job quality and professional identity
• Responsible organisational transformation
• Labour Process Theory
• Qualitative organisational research

Qualifications

• MA Teaching & Professional Enquiry
• PGCE Secondary Education (Chemistry)
• BA Criminology with Forensic Biology