CAROW Announces AI And Work Grant Recipients

Three seed grants awarded for research on the intersection of AI and organizations, employment and work.

Mar. 21, 2026 at 1:56am

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The ILR School's Center for Applied Research on Work (CAROW) has awarded three seed grants for new research projects that explore the impact of artificial intelligence on the workplace. The grants were made possible by a gift from ILR alumnus Robert Bluestein and will fund studies examining how job seekers respond to AI expectations in job ads, strategies for worker voice in AI governance, and the role of creativity biases in human-AI collaboration.

Why it matters

As AI becomes more prevalent in the workplace, it is crucial to understand its effects on job quality, worker voice, and employment conditions. These research projects aim to provide insights that can help organizations develop more effective recruitment strategies and implement AI in ways that protect workers' interests and promote equitable, democratic approaches to AI governance.

The details

The three seed grant projects are: 1) Examining how job seekers respond to expectations for generative AI in job ads, and whether organizational characteristics like union presence and employee voice shape these reactions; 2) Convening researchers, labor advocates and practitioners to share strategies for asserting worker voice in AI governance; and 3) Investigating how creativity biases influence human-AI collaboration and idea generation in the workplace.

  • The seed grants were recently awarded by CAROW in March 2026.

The players

CAROW

The Center for Applied Research on Work at Cornell University's ILR School, which awarded the AI and Work seed grants.

Robert Bluestein

An ILR alumnus who provided a generous gift to fund the AI and Work seed grants.

John McCarthy

A professor in the Global Labor and Work program at Cornell ILR and part of the research team for one of the seed grant projects.

Zoe West

A researcher at the Worker Institute who is part of the team organizing the AI and Worker Voice convening.

Brian Lucas

An Organizational Behavior professor at Cornell ILR who is leading the research project on creativity biases and human-AI collaboration.

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What they’re saying

“While AI is often promoted as improving efficiency and decision-making, its impacts on job quality, worker voice, and employment conditions raise important concerns.”

— Aiha Nguyen, Researcher, Data & Society

The takeaway

These research projects underscore the importance of centering worker perspectives as AI becomes more prevalent in the workplace. By examining how AI affects job attraction, worker voice, and human-AI collaboration, the studies aim to inform more equitable and democratic approaches to AI implementation that protect workers' interests.