Deep Learning for Information Systems Research

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly emerged as a key disruptive technology in the 21st century. At the heart of modern AI lies Deep Learning (DL), an emerging class of algorithms that has enabled today's platforms and organizations to operate at unprecedented efficiency, effectiveness, and scale. Despite significant interest, IS contributions in DL have been limited, which we argue is in part due to issues with defining, positioning, and conducting DL research. Recognizing the tremendous opportunity here for the IS community, this work clarifies, streamlines, and presents approaches for IS scholars to make timely and high-impact contributions. Related to this broader goal, this paper makes five timely contributions. First, we systematically summarize the major components of DL in a novel Deep Learning for Information Systems Research (DL-ISR) schematic that illustrates how technical DL processes are driven by key factors from an application environment. Second, we present a novel Knowledge Contribution Framework (KCF) to help IS scholars position their DL contributions for maximum impact. Third, we provide ten guidelines to help IS scholars generate rigorous and relevant DL-ISR in a systematic, high-quality fashion. Fourth, we present a review of prevailing journal and conference venues to examine how IS scholars have leveraged DL for various research inquiries. Finally, we provide a unique perspective on how IS scholars can formulate DL-ISR inquiries by carefully considering the interplay of business function(s), application areas(s), and the KCF. This perspective intentionally emphasizes inter-disciplinary, intra-disciplinary, and cross-IS tradition perspectives. Taken together, these contributions provide IS scholars a timely framework to advance the scale, scope, and impact of deep learning research.