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arXiv · 2610.28343

The GenAI Who Knew Too Little: Revisiting Transactive Memory Systems in Human GenAI Collaboration

Christian Meske·Tobias Hermanns·Florian Brachten
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Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is rapidly transforming knowledge work, creating new collaborative dynamics that challenge tradi-tional human-human interaction patterns. This study investigates how Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) manifest in human-GenAI collabora-tion. Through qualitative interpretive interviews with 14 knowledge work-ers and thematic analysis, we identified distinct TMS manifestations across its three main dimensions: (1) regarding specialization, expertise recogni-tion exhibited asymmetry. Humans developed awareness of GenAI capabili-ties while GenAI demonstrated only temporary recognition of human exper-tise; (2) in terms of credibility, humans formed ambivalent trust relation-ships with GenAI, simultaneously attributing expertise to the latter while implementing additional verification processes; and (3) concerning coor-dination, where humans primarily directed more passive GenAI systems lacking initiative, resulting in hierarchical interaction patterns and unidi-rectional information flow. Our findings reveal that TMS manifests differ-ently in human-GenAI compared to human-human collaboration, necessitat-ing theoretical adaptations including trust markers, acknowledging GenAI's absent metamemory, and identifying its temporary memory.

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Christian Meske, Tobias Hermanns, Florian Brachten. 2026-10-20. The GenAI Who Knew Too Little: Revisiting Transactive Memory Systems in Human GenAI Collaboration. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.28343

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