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Dr Tapani Rinta-Kahila
Dr

Tapani Rinta-Kahila

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Overview

Background

Dr Tapani Rinta-Kahila is a Lecturer of Business Information Systems and an ARC DECRA Fellow at The University of Queensland Business School. He holds a doctoral degree from Aalto University School of Business, where he wrote an award-winning dissertation on the decommissioning of organisational information systems.

His research focuses on issues around the implementation and management of artificial intelligence (AI) systems in organisations, unintended consequences of technology use, and replacement of organisational information systems (IS). In particular, Tapani strives to understand how contemporary technologies such as AI affect the way in which people learn, work and organise, and how the negative consequences of such technologies can be managed.

Tapani's research has appeared in leading IS journals, including MIS Quarterly, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, European Journal of Information Systems, Journal of Information Technology, Information & Management, and MIS Quarterly Executive, as well as in leading IS conferences, such as ICIS, ECIS, HICSS, and ACIS. His publication "Algorithmic decision-making and system destructiveness: A case of automatic debt recovery" in European Journal of Information Systems was awarded the prestigious Stafford Beer Medal and AIS Senior Scholar Best IS Publication Award in 2023. Moreover, his research achievements more generally have been recognised with awards for Early-Career Research Excellence from the UQ Business School and BEL Faculty, and his industry engagement received the UQ Early-to-Mid-Career Researcher Industry Engagement Award and UQ BEL Faculty Research Engagement and Impact Award.

Tapani serves as an Associate Editor for leading IS conferences ICIS and ECIS, as a Minitrack Chair for HICSS, and as a regular reviewer for the leading IS journals (JAIS, EJIS, ISJ, JIT, I&M, BISE, MISQ Executive, etc) and conferences (ICIS, ECIS, HICSS, PACIS, ACIS, WI etc).

Availability

Dr Tapani Rinta-Kahila is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy of Science (Advanced), Aalto University

Research interests

  • Automation and Erosion of Expertise

    Technologies like AI are becoming increasingly sophisticated, allowing the automation of many types of activities that were previously conducted exclusively by humans. What happens to our skills and abilities when we offload an increasing share of our cognitive functions to technology? What are the individual and organisational implications of becoming more and more dependent on AI? Is the erosion of skills inevitable, or can we find ways to consciously manage it?

  • Organisational AI implementation: challenges and opportunities

    AI technology promises significant benefits to organisations but reaping those benefits is far from simple. How can organisations implement AI responsibly while making most of the technology's benefits? How can they deal with issues related to accountability in algorithmic decision-making, the inscrutability of complex AI models, and potential biases stemming from data and algorithms?

Research impacts

Tapani's research has informed the professional practice of several industry partners. For instance, his collaboration with the SAP Institute for Digital Government has resulted in four thought-leadership reports co-authored with SAP practitioners. These reports outline approaches to responsible AI implementation in the public sector, and they have been distributed widely in the global SAP organisation and translated into several languages. Further, Tapani has conducted societally important research on the Australian welfare debt recollection scandal known as Robodebt, and his published articles on the topic have garnered attention from the media (ABC Radio, SBS News, Reuters). Through his work, Tapani strives to contribute to creating a more informed and responsible culture around the use and implementation of cutting-edge AI technologies.

Featured articles:

What happens when we outsource boring but important work to AI?

How to avoid algorithmic decision-making mistakes: lessons from the Robodebt debacle

Solving wicked problems: The partnership helping governments harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Works

Search Professor Tapani Rinta-Kahila’s works on UQ eSpace

33 works between 2014 and 2024

1 - 20 of 33 works

2024

Conference Publication

Redesigning Work for Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector

Bidar, Reihaneh, Someh, Ida, Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Williams, Katie, Indulska, Marta and Ryan, Ian (2024). Redesigning Work for Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector. 84th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM 2024), Chicago, IL United States, 9-13 August 2024. Briarcliff Manor, NY United States: Academy of Management. doi: 10.5465/amproc.2024.15848abstract

Redesigning Work for Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector

2024

Journal Article

Managing unintended consequences of algorithmic decision-making: the case of Robodebt

Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Someh, Ida, Gillespie, Nicole, Indulska, Marta and Gregor, Shirley (2024). Managing unintended consequences of algorithmic decision-making: the case of Robodebt. Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, 14 (1), 165-171. doi: 10.1177/20438869231165538

Managing unintended consequences of algorithmic decision-making: the case of Robodebt

2023

Conference Publication

An AI-enabled community safety service: stakeholder benefits and vulnerabilities

Pool, Javad, Smith, Natalie, Dodds, Hunter, Lockey, Steven, Curtis, Caitlin, Rinta-Kahila, Tapani and Gillespie, Nicole (2023). An AI-enabled community safety service: stakeholder benefits and vulnerabilities. Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS), Wellington, New Zealand, 5 - 8 December 2023. Atlanta, GA, United States: Association for Information Systems.

An AI-enabled community safety service: stakeholder benefits and vulnerabilities

2023

Conference Publication

Building and sustaining communities in online labour platforms

Suvivuo, Sampsa, Rinta-Kahila, Tapani and Tuunainen, Virpi (2023). Building and sustaining communities in online labour platforms. European Conference on Information Systems, Kristiansand, Norway, 13-16 June 2023. New York, NY United States: Elsevier.

Building and sustaining communities in online labour platforms

2023

Journal Article

Unethical but not illegal! A critical look at two-sided disinformation platforms: justifications, critique, and a way forward

Soliman, Wael and Rinta-Kahila, Tapani (2023). Unethical but not illegal! A critical look at two-sided disinformation platforms: justifications, critique, and a way forward. Journal of Information Technology, 39 (3), 441-476. doi: 10.1177/02683962231181145

Unethical but not illegal! A critical look at two-sided disinformation platforms: justifications, critique, and a way forward

2023

Journal Article

Getting trapped in technical debt: sociotechnical analysis of a legacy system’s replacement

Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Penttinen, Esko and Lyytinen, Kalle (2023). Getting trapped in technical debt: sociotechnical analysis of a legacy system’s replacement. MIS Quarterly, 47 (1), 1-32. doi: 10.25300/misq/2022/16711

Getting trapped in technical debt: sociotechnical analysis of a legacy system’s replacement

2023

Conference Publication

A domino effect: interdependencies among different types of technical debt

Mäki, Netta, Penttinen, Esko and Rinta-Kahila, Tapani (2023). A domino effect: interdependencies among different types of technical debt. 56th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Maui, HI, United States, 3-6 January 2023. Washington, DC, United States: IEEE Computer Society. doi: 10.24251/hicss.2023.722

A domino effect: interdependencies among different types of technical debt

2023

Other Outputs

Redesigning work with Artificial Intelligence

Bidar, Reihaneh, Someh, Ida, Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Williams, Katie, Indulska, Marta and Ryan, Ian (2023). Redesigning work with Artificial Intelligence. SAP Thought Leadership Paper: Public Sector Brisbane, Australia; Canberra, Australia: The University of Queensland; SAP Institute for Digital Government. doi: 10.14264/6428cca

Redesigning work with Artificial Intelligence

2023

Conference Publication

Robotic process automation from the design-capital perspective - effects on technical debt and digital options

Ruha, Lauri, Rinta-Kahila, Tapani and Penttinen, Esko (2023). Robotic process automation from the design-capital perspective - effects on technical debt and digital options. 56th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Maui, HI, United States, 3-6 January 2023. Washington, DC, United States: IEEE Computer Society. doi: 10.24251/hicss.2023.664

Robotic process automation from the design-capital perspective - effects on technical debt and digital options

2023

Conference Publication

Building artifificial intelligence capability in the public sector

Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Someh, Ida, Indulska, Marta and Ryan, Ian (2023). Building artifificial intelligence capability in the public sector. Australasian Conference on Information Systems, Wellington, New Zealand, 5-8 December 2023. Atlanta, GA, United States: Association for Information Systems.

Building artifificial intelligence capability in the public sector

2023

Journal Article

The vicious circles of skill erosion: a case study of cognitive automation

Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Penttinen, Esko, Salovaara, Antti, Soliman, Wael and Ruissalo, Joona (2023). The vicious circles of skill erosion: a case study of cognitive automation. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 24 (5) 2, 1378-1412. doi: 10.17705/1jais.00829

The vicious circles of skill erosion: a case study of cognitive automation

2022

Other Outputs

Building Artificial Intelligence capability in the public sector

Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Someh, Ida, Indulska, Marta and Ryan, I. (2022). Building Artificial Intelligence capability in the public sector. SAP Thought Leadership Paper: Public Sector Brisbane, Australia; Canberra, Australia: The University of Queensland; SAP Institute for Digital Government. doi: 10.14264/91738b9

Building Artificial Intelligence capability in the public sector

2021

Journal Article

Algorithmic decision-making and system destructiveness: a case of automatic debt recovery

Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Someh, Ida, Gillespie, Nicole, Indulska, Marta and Gregor, Shirley (2021). Algorithmic decision-making and system destructiveness: a case of automatic debt recovery. European Journal of Information Systems, 31 (3), 1-26. doi: 10.1080/0960085X.2021.1960905

Algorithmic decision-making and system destructiveness: a case of automatic debt recovery

2021

Journal Article

Customer reactions to self-checkout discontinuance

Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Penttinen, Esko, Kumar, Ashish and Janakiraman, Ramkumar (2021). Customer reactions to self-checkout discontinuance. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 61 102498, 102498. doi: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102498

Customer reactions to self-checkout discontinuance

2021

Journal Article

Organizational transformation with intelligent automation: Case Nokia Software

Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Penttinen, Esko and Lyytinen, Kalle (2021). Organizational transformation with intelligent automation: Case Nokia Software. Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, 11 (2), 204388692095487-109. doi: 10.1177/2043886920954874

Organizational transformation with intelligent automation: Case Nokia Software

2021

Conference Publication

Pressuring trading partners to adopt a business-to-business connectivity platform - stick or carrot?

Esko Penttinen, Tapani Rinta-Kahila and Jukka Sihvonen (2021). Pressuring trading partners to adopt a business-to-business connectivity platform - stick or carrot?. Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Maui, HI, United States, 4-8 January 2021. Honolulu, HI, United States: University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Pressuring trading partners to adopt a business-to-business connectivity platform - stick or carrot?

2021

Journal Article

Sociotechnical envelopment of artificial intelligence: an approach to organizational deployment of inscrutable artificial intelligence systems

Asatiani, Aleksandre, Malo, Pekka, Nagbol, Per Radberg, Penttinen, Esko, Rinta-Kahila, Tapani and Salovaara, Antti (2021). Sociotechnical envelopment of artificial intelligence: an approach to organizational deployment of inscrutable artificial intelligence systems. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 22 (2), 325-352. doi: 10.17705/1jais.00664

Sociotechnical envelopment of artificial intelligence: an approach to organizational deployment of inscrutable artificial intelligence systems

2021

Journal Article

Four flavours of customers: a dual-system perspective on self-service technology use

Rinta-Kahila, Tapani and Penttinen, Esko (2021). Four flavours of customers: a dual-system perspective on self-service technology use. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 25, 1-27. doi: 10.3127/ajis.v25i0.2671

Four flavours of customers: a dual-system perspective on self-service technology use

2021

Other Outputs

Building explainability into public sector artificial intelligence: helping stakeholders understand the thinking behind AI decision-making

Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Someh, Ida, Indulska, Marta, Ryan, Ian and van Leent, Ryan (2021). Building explainability into public sector artificial intelligence: helping stakeholders understand the thinking behind AI decision-making. SAP Thought Leadership Paper: Public Sector Brisbane, Australia: The University of Queensland; SAP SE.

Building explainability into public sector artificial intelligence: helping stakeholders understand the thinking behind AI decision-making

2020

Journal Article

Challenges of explaining the behavior of black-box AI systems

Asatiani, Aleksandre, Malo, Pekka, Nagb, Per Radberg, Penttinen, Esko, Rinta-Kahila, Tapani and Salovaara, Antti (2020). Challenges of explaining the behavior of black-box AI systems. MIS Quarterly Executive, 19 (4), 259-278. doi: 10.17705/2msqe.00037

Challenges of explaining the behavior of black-box AI systems

Funding

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2027
    Maintaining Human Expertise in an AI-driven World
    ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2021 - 2022
    Creating Value with Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector - Stage 2
    SAP SE - Walldorf
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Dr Tapani Rinta-Kahila is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

Media

Enquiries

Contact Dr Tapani Rinta-Kahila directly for media enquiries about:

  • artificial intelligence
  • case study
  • information systems
  • IT system replacement
  • qualitative research

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