The Impact of Emerging Technologies on Knowledge Management

One of the defining trends of our time is the rapid development and spread of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. With the recent boom in digital innovation, AI is getting a bigger emphasis, brings new opportunities to tackle many issues within organizations and raises new challenges about its usage and limits. It is expected that more and more "smart" interconnected machines capable of situational awareness and independent decision-making will emerge. Large-scale projects are being launched all over the world including Hungary, for developing and applying automation and AI-based business solutions. AI and expert systems were already used in the fifties and later in the seventies and eighties, but results did not bring any breakthrough success. Thanks to technological development the situation has changed and many seemingly unsolvable problems (e.g. machine interpretation, facial recognition, diagnosis and prognosis of certain rare diseases) are progressing well. Beside "human" knowledge, "machine" and common "human-machine" knowledge play an increasing role, in addition to "human" creativity "machine" creativity gains ground. In the field of Knowledge Management (KM), both theoretically and practically important issues arise like how the development of technology affects KM or how AI can contribute to the organization of knowledge, and how it can facilitate and extend the future of knowledge workers. The research is intended to map the future of KM and knowledge workers in the light of the emergence of knowledge generated by emerging technologies. The research is carried out via qualitative methodology by conducting interviews that result in organizational case studies with respondents from various organizations operating in Hungary. Just as effective adaptation of KM and today's technological achievements play an essential role in the survival of companies, it can be a significant advantage if the knowledge created during application of emerging technologies is managed in some way.