REIMAGINING TRUTH IN THE AGE OF AI AND POLARIZATION: AN ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The rapid proliferation of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), algorithmic communication systems, and digital personalization technologies has fundamentally reshaped organizational information environments. As AI-generated content becomes increasingly indistinguishable from human-authored communication, organizations now operate in a landscape where truth is dynamically constructed, strategically contested, and algorithmically mediated. At the same time, rising political, cultural, and ideological polarization has fractured shared social realities, producing epistemic fragmentation among employees, consumers, stakeholders, and the broader public. This paper examines how truth is negotiated at the intersection of AI-driven communication and polarized social contexts. Drawing upon Foucauldian perspectives on power–knowledge relations, Habermasian theories of communicative rationality, and narrative-based organizational studies, this research conceptualizes organizational truth as a multidimensional, power-infused, and technologically co-produced phenomenon.

Using a multi-method qualitative design, including critical discourse analysis of AI-generated corporate communication and comparative case studies in the technology and media sectors, the study investigates how organizations construct truth-claims, legitimize narratives, and navigate polarized audiences. Findings reveal that AI systems increasingly function as strategic truth-makers, shaping narratives based on optimization logics rather than factual coherence. AI-generated messaging contributes to the formation of “segmented realities,” where stakeholder groups receive personalized, and sometimes conflicting, narrative frames. Moreover, the automation of communication amplifies managerial power, marginalizes dissent, and introduces ethical tensions around transparency, bias, and accountability. The analysis shows how organizations must balance the efficiency offered by algorithmic communication with the need to preserve trust, authenticity, and discursive openness.

This paper contributes to emerging scholarship on truth, AI, and organizational communication by proposing a conceptual framework for understanding truth as a negotiated, co-produced, and contextually contingent construct within AI-mediated environments. The study offers practical implications for leaders, emphasizing the importance of ethical AI governance, inclusive dialogue, algorithmic transparency, and responsible narrative management. The paper concludes by identifying pathways for future research on AI-driven truth-making, polarization, and organizational legitimacy in increasingly fragmented knowledge ecosystems.