Does the application of artificial intelligence affect task performance in knowledge workers?

With the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the business sector, increasingly complex tasks are managed by AI-powered automated systems, which may lead knowledge workers to experience career uncertainty, resulting in negative work states (e.g., slacking or desiring to resign) and pessimism. Hence, this study investigated how knowledge workers’ AI awareness predicted leader–member exchange (LMX) and task performance, with affective commitment as a mediating variable, by surveying 360 knowledge workers in China. The results showed that AI awareness negatively predicted LMX and task performance, while LMX positively predicted affective commitment and task performance. LMX and affective commitment also mediated the relationship between AI awareness and task performance. The study contributes to the emerging discourse on human–AI workplace integration by delineating the psychological mechanisms underlying technological disruption, while providing empirically grounded recommendations for sustaining workforce engagement during digital transformation initiatives.