Artificial intelligence: HR friend or foe?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-11-2018-0094 |
| Pages | 47-51 |
| Date | 08 April 2019 |
| Published date | 08 April 2019 |
| Author | Peter Hogg |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Artificial intelligence: HR friend or foe?
Peter Hogg
Abstract
Purpose –While the useof artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplaceis on the rise, few understand how it
will affect our jobs.Will it be a hindrance?A threat? Or the solutionto the current productivity dilemma? As
with any new, and largely untested, technology, AI brings both challenges and opportunities that we
need to be consciousof.
Design/methodology/approach –The currentand potential future implementationof AI technologies at
SchneiderElectric is assessed.
Findings –In HR, it is our responsibility to help navigate business leaders towards making the best
businessdecision, often with the use of technology.AI, like analytics before it, hashuge potential.
Originality/value –What we know for sure, is that the development of human talent has become one of the
top priorities for global CEOs. With severe talent shortages in the UK, finding the right candidates for the job
and investing in their professional development and well-beingto keep them for longer look like no-brainers.
Keywords Human Resource Management
Paper type Viewpoint
While the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace is on the rise, few understand
how it will affect our jobs. Will it be a hindrance? A threat? Or the solution to the current
productivity dilemma? As with any new, and largely untested, technology, AI brings
both challenges and opportunities that we need to be conscious of.
In HR, it is our responsibility to help navigate business leaders towards making the best
business decision, often with the use of technology. AI, like analytics before it, has huge
potential. The main advantage is increased productivity –repetitivetasks are completed by
the technology in a faster and more accurate manner, giving HR professionals more time to
work on human-centric tasks.
Yet, there are some risks –some of which hit the headlines. Amazon announced that it
scrapped its AI recruiting tool that showed bias against women, while others have also
fallen foul. So, can we be sure that AI recruitment is going to be better and fairer? How does
AI fit in current models of employment?Would humans require completely new and different
skills to succeed while competing with AI for similar jobs? Would staff take well to being
managed by algorithms and robots? These questions are hard to answer at the moment.
And it is something that we are going to explorethroughout this article.
What we know for sure is that the development of human talent has become one of the top
priorities for global CEOs[1]. With severe talent shortages in the UK, finding the right
candidates for the job and investing in their professional development and well-being to
keep them for longer look like no-brainers.
AI breeds the “always on”culture
Yet, it’s not commonplace. Despite the more digitised and “smarter” workplace, stories of
stress, corporate bias, inflexibility and bad hiring, continue to make the headlines. As new
Peter Hogg is Talent
Acquisition and Mobility
Manager, Dublin, Ireland,
and is based at Schneider
Electric, London, UK.
DOI 10.1108/SHR-11-2018-0094 VOL. 18 NO. 2 2019, pp. 47-51, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 jSTRATEGIC HR REVIEW jPAGE 47
To continue reading
Request your trial