---
_id: '61410'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify, analyze, and explain the
    implications that could\r\narise for service settings if AI systems develop, or
    are perceived to develop, consciousness – the\r\nability to acknowledge their
    own existence and the capacity for positive or negative experiences.\r\n\r\nDesign/methodology/approach:
    This study proposes and explores four hypothetical scenarios in\r\nwhich conscious
    AI in service could manifest. We contextualize our resulting typology in the\r\nhealth
    service context and integrate extant literature on technology-enabled service,
    AI\r\nconsciousness, and AI ethics into the narrative.\r\n\r\nFindings: This study
    provides a unique theoretical contribution to service research in the form of\r\na
    Type IV theory. It enables future service researchers to apprehend, explain, and
    predict how\r\nfunctionally conscious AI in service might unfold.\r\n\r\nOriginality:
    An increasingly prolific public discourse acknowledges that conscious AI systems\r\nmay
    emerge. Against this backdrop, this study aims to systematically explore a question
    that is\r\nperhaps the most critical and timely, but also inherently speculative,
    in relation to AI in service\r\nresearch by introducing much-needed theory and
    terminology.\r\n\r\nPractical implications: The ethical use of conscious AI in
    service could emerge as a distinct\r\ncompetitive advantage in the future. Achieving
    this outcome involves speculative yet actionable\r\nrecommendations that include
    training, guiding, and controlling how humans engage with such\r\nsystems, developing
    appropriate wellbeing protocols for functionally conscious AI systems, and\r\nestablishing
    AI rights and governance frameworks."
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Christoph
  full_name: Breidbach, Christoph
  last_name: Breidbach
- first_name: Casper Ferm
  full_name: Lars-Erik, Casper Ferm
  last_name: Lars-Erik
- first_name: Paul
  full_name: Maglio, Paul
  last_name: Maglio
- first_name: Daniel
  full_name: Beverungen, Daniel
  id: '59677'
  last_name: Beverungen
- first_name: Jochen
  full_name: Wirtz, Jochen
  last_name: Wirtz
- first_name: Alex
  full_name: Twigg, Alex
  last_name: Twigg
citation:
  ama: Breidbach C, Lars-Erik CF, Maglio P, Beverungen D, Wirtz J, Twigg A. Conscious
    Artificial Intelligence in Service. <i>Journal of Service Management</i>.
  apa: Breidbach, C., Lars-Erik, C. F., Maglio, P., Beverungen, D., Wirtz, J., &#38;
    Twigg, A. (n.d.). Conscious Artificial Intelligence in Service. <i>Journal of
    Service Management</i>.
  bibtex: '@article{Breidbach_Lars-Erik_Maglio_Beverungen_Wirtz_Twigg, title={Conscious
    Artificial Intelligence in Service}, journal={Journal of Service Management},
    publisher={Emerald}, author={Breidbach, Christoph and Lars-Erik, Casper Ferm and
    Maglio, Paul and Beverungen, Daniel and Wirtz, Jochen and Twigg, Alex} }'
  chicago: Breidbach, Christoph, Casper Ferm Lars-Erik, Paul Maglio, Daniel Beverungen,
    Jochen Wirtz, and Alex Twigg. “Conscious Artificial Intelligence in Service.”
    <i>Journal of Service Management</i>, n.d.
  ieee: C. Breidbach, C. F. Lars-Erik, P. Maglio, D. Beverungen, J. Wirtz, and A.
    Twigg, “Conscious Artificial Intelligence in Service,” <i>Journal of Service Management</i>.
  mla: Breidbach, Christoph, et al. “Conscious Artificial Intelligence in Service.”
    <i>Journal of Service Management</i>, Emerald.
  short: C. Breidbach, C.F. Lars-Erik, P. Maglio, D. Beverungen, J. Wirtz, A. Twigg,
    Journal of Service Management (n.d.).
date_created: 2025-09-23T11:47:47Z
date_updated: 2025-11-10T10:22:59Z
ddc:
- '380'
department:
- _id: '195'
file:
- access_level: closed
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: dabe
  date_created: 2025-11-10T10:20:48Z
  date_updated: 2025-11-10T10:20:48Z
  file_id: '62150'
  file_name: Breidbach et al, 2025_Conscious AI in Service_w link.pdf
  file_size: 743479
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2025-11-10T10:20:48Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
keyword:
- AI
- AI consciousness
- AI ethics
- service systems
language:
- iso: eng
publication: Journal of Service Management
publication_status: inpress
publisher: Emerald
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Conscious Artificial Intelligence in Service
type: journal_article
user_id: '59677'
year: '2025'
...