Towards Cognitive Service Systems–A Framework for Conceptualizing AI-Supported Value Co-Creation

Service systems are evolving from traditional service systems to smart service systems to cognitive service systems based on the evolution of technological capabilities. However, humans in service systems might change work or life situations, have cognitive capabilities, and suffer from bounded rationality. In addition, humans face acute problems like knowledge burden, half-life of information, and being flooded by data, information, as well as knowledge. To overcome these problems, traditionally humans learn and acquire skills, knowledge, and experience through entrepreneurship and innovations. But modern technologies like AI, generative AI, and IoT usher a new horizon to overcome those problems through the harmonious interactions between humans and generative AI. In this research, we propose a framework of cognitive service systems that focuses on the following aspects: Humans interact with generative AI harmoniously and consider these technologies as assistants, collaborators, coaches, and mediators in the cognitive service system. Therefore, the proposed model of cognitive service system is described by developing a hierarchical topology of tools, assistants, collaborators, coaches, and mediators (TACCM), which ultimately expands the evolution of service systems with the co-evolution of technological capabilities. Practically, the TACCM topology supports humans regardless of industries and their professions, race, creed, and gender to co-create value through harmonious interactions with technologies.