AI in HR

Human resources presents a wide variety of artificial intelligence use cases. Some fall into the most traditional view of AI in which technology takes over functions traditionally reserved for people. In other cases, however, AI’s role is not to replace humans, but to maximize their impact.

The use of AI in human resources is already widespread, and for good reason – hiring directly impacts business goals, and using AI to forward those goals is an obvious win. For example, organizations are leveraging intelligent analytics programs to more effectively recruit and retain high-quality employees. As AI applications become more sophisticated, their role in these processes will become even greater.

At its best, the impact of AI can help make HR more effective and fairer. It can make hiring and personnel policies more efficient by working at speeds unfathomable to a team of people, let alone an individual. It can work independent of the myriad human biases that infect personnel decisions.

However, as is the case with most technological innovations, AI presents a number of potential pitfalls. Without proper safeguards, they can infringe on employee privacy or create a “big brother” ethos that runs the risk of prompting resentment from workers. In some cases, algorithms designed by humans can serve to further entrench biases, rather than eliminate them.

Finally, regardless of its use in HR processes, AI will be an important theme for hiring managers simply because of the high demand among employers for employees trained in AI.