When Your Boss Is an AI Bot: Exploring Opportunities and Risks of Manager Clone Agents in the Future Workplace

TL;DR

This paper investigates Manager Clone Agents—AI-powered surrogates trained on a manager's communications and patterns—to perform managerial tasks. Using six design-fiction workshops (n=23) with managers and workers, the study identifies four supportive roles (proxy presence, information conveyor, productivity engine, leadership amplifier) and analyzes risks at individual, interpersonal, and organizational levels. It then offers design and policy guidance to ensure responsible deployment, emphasizing worker-centered concerns, boundary conditions, and graduated autonomy to preserve relational legitimacy. The findings advance understanding of AI-mediated management by distinguishing clone agents from generic algorithmic systems and by outlining actionable strategies for trustworthy, human-centered intermediation in future workplaces.

Abstract

As Generative AI (GenAI) becomes increasingly embedded in the workplace, managers are beginning to create Manager Clone Agents -- AI-powered digital surrogates trained on their work communications and decision patterns to perform managerial tasks on their behalf. To investigate this emerging phenomenon, we conducted six design fiction workshops (n = 23) with managers and workers, in which participants co-created speculative scenarios and discussed how Manager Clone Agents might transform collaborative work. We identified four potential roles that participants envisioned for Manager Clone Agents: proxy presence, informational conveyor, productivity engine, and leadership amplifier, while highlighting concerns spanning individual, interpersonal, and organizational levels. We provide design recommendations envisioned by both parties for integrating Manager Clone Agents responsibly into the future workplace, emphasizing the need to prioritize workers' perspectives and nurture interpersonal bonds while also anticipating alternative futures that may disrupt managerial hierarchies.

Figures (2)

• Figure 1: Summary of Findings.
• Figure 2: Story From W23 Showing Frustration When the Manager Clone Agent Fails to Recall Past Conversations.