Artificial Intelligence and Human Multiple Intelligences: Substitution, Complementarity, and the Future of Managerial Capability—A Scopus Evidence Map and Integrative Review

Abstract

Artificial Intelligences (AI) has revived the question of whether machines can rival human intelligence. The field expanded sharply after 2023, although the direct AI-multiple-intelligences intersection remained small. This paper argues that the comparison is better understood through multiple intelligences theory than through a single, general notion of intelligence. It combines a Scopus evidence map of 997 records with an integrative synthesis of 54 scholarly sources and four published meta-analyses to examine substitution, complementarity, and human distinctiveness. The synthesis indicates that AI can simulate or amplify selected linguistic, logical-mathematical, and spatial functions, but does not possess multiple intelligences in the human sense because human intelligence is embodied, developmental, socially situated, and morally accountable. AI substitutes most readily at the task level, complements people across workflows, and remains limited at the responsibility level. Published quantitative evidence also shows that AI assistance often improves performance relative to humans working alone, but does not reliably outperform the better standalone human or AI agent. For managers and ODL providers, the practical challenge is therefore to design hybrid systems that extend access, support, and analytical reach without outsourcing judgement or accountability.