AI Set to Be Rocket Fuel for HR Tech

From the launch of new platforms, to the latest fake image that fooled tens of millions online or calls for control in order to safeguard the future of humanity, AI is rarely out of the headlines these days. One of the few consequences of the rapid progress of this technology that can be confidently predicted is that it will be disruptive. AI and the big data that feeds its intimidatingly expansive reasoning is already on the way to transforming the operations of human resources (HR). What has come to be known as HR tech will now be turbo charged by advancing AI.

Inevitably, there are also potential downsides that accompany the numerous advantages and efficiencies AI delivers in the HR realm. Some — such as the dangers of data that reflect existing biases and inequalities resulting in AI-driven systems that do the same, and privacy issues around personal data — have been identified already and are being addressed. Other challenges will no doubt emerge as use of the tech marches on and expands. Whatever the pros and cons of AI in HR, ignoring it is evidently not an option.

Just getting started

Among the lowest-hanging fruit in back-office functions that AI-driven HR tech can efficiently automate and drastically improve are tasks such as payroll management, personnel records and employee monitoring. Of these, it is employee monitoring that has the greatest potential for transformation. AI brings the possibility of going far beyond simply measuring how long a worker is at their desk, into analysing how, when, and in what ways they are most productive, and why.

AI-equipped HR tech systems can also evaluate employees, identify skill gaps, provide feedback and deliver or recommend individually tailored training content (in Japan, Hitachi and Fujitsu have already developed AI-based training platforms). Included in this will be continuous monitoring of job performance rather than the traditional annual job review. In addition, analytics based on individual execution of tasks or project management will optimise allocation of human capital and pinpoint requirements for new positions or even divisions.

Employee engagement can also be boosted by using apps tailored to an individual’s personality, and even feature gamified elements to entertain and motivate staff. Similarly, health and wellness, which are closely linked to productivity, can be monitored and then solutions provided that incentivise healthy behaviour.

At their best, all these systems will free up HR professionals to focus on more strategic and value-added work requiring empathy, creativity and the human touch.

Is Big Brother watching you?

And it is within the ultra-efficiency of the technology that there lies another risk: resentment among employees who perceive such levels of monitoring and analysis as Big Brother-style surveillance by a digitalised management. Indeed, another new task for HR departments is set to be preparing employees for the increasing presence of AI in their workday and helping them adapt to, and navigate, the shifting landscape.

The recruitment process is another area feeling the impact of AI and HR tech. Some companies are already offering talent management operations solutions which covers support in recruitment, aptitude testing, and setting online interviews

Fairly private

Two of the major challenges around the use of AI and big data, at least in relation to human subjects, are privacy protection in the face of increasingly strict regulations, and bias. Singapore-based start-up Betterdata, which took second place in the financial innovation category of Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s 2022 Tokyo Financial Award, is tackling both of these challenges.

Co-founder and CEO Dr Uzair Javaid explains that his firm uses synthetic data — anonymised data based on real information — that can be adjusted to prevent existing inequalities teaching AI systems to be biassed.

“One example is if data comes from a company where 80 percent of the workforce is male, and the female 20 percent is concentrated in lower income positions,” says Javaid. “This is ground truth in this case. But say we use this data to build an AI model to attract new employees, then the model will learn that females are low earners by default. Although this is true for the current workforce (based on real data), it is not true for future hires.”

Betterdata’s AI models can address this through leveraging generative AI to create synthetic data from the original information but with a 50-50 gender split balanced across all income levels.

The jury is still out on whether AI will end up creating more jobs than it replaces but the winds of change are blowing. As new roles emerge and others disappear, effective HR will be crucial in guiding staff through these transformations.

And HR itself will not be immune; the CEO of IBM told Bloomberg on May 1 that the firm is slowing down or freezing hiring for some back-office positions, including in HR, as it sees AI taking over certain tasks in the coming years. As in nearly every sector and profession, those who can leverage AI to add value and boost their productivity will be starkly better off than those who try and shy away from the new tech.

By: Gavin Blair

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