Should we be worried that Artificial Intelligence will eventually replace professional people like HR Leaders and In-House Recruiters? Will Artificial Intelligence be able to do anything and everything, including your job? Yes! Lets explore AI’s future impact.

The future capability of AI is not generally in question. Predicting AI’s future impact is therefore a consideration of timescale, appetite and regulation.

Evidently, AI has advanced quickly. Experts tell us that it will continue its advance more quickly each year. It must architect its own improvements once we are at the limits of our intellectual capabilities to do that ourselves. Arguably, we have reached that stage of development today.

You might be aware that approximately 50% of people text-chatting to AI mistakenly believe that they are chatting to a human. Some people mistakenly believe that humans are AI agents in those same tests. Tests are designed and conducted by a number of academic institutions. But, AI’s trick of appearing human-like isn’t just a lab’ experiment. A new study by a Cambridge University academic identified that children see chatbots as quasi-human and trustworthy! Predicting this advance just 5 years ago may have seemed fantastical and sci-fi inspired.

So, what is AI? It is a black box of artificial neurons and it does surprising things. An AI’s inorganic brain is not an analogue of the human brain. It is slightly different, but it is able to perform much the same function. A lack of finesse in its architecture is more than made up for by raw computing power. Becoming a master of Go and Chess, identifying brain tumours, folding proteins, combat dogfighting and many other disciplines are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AI skills. The problem is that each discipline learned by AI is one that it masters beyond the capability of humans. Right before our eyes, we are quickly becoming second best to a higher intelligence. AI’s impact is already being felt.

This brings us to the question of HR, recruitment and your own future. First, will AI replace HR professionals and recruiters? Undoubtedly, yes! However, we are not quite there yet.

The promise of AI led recruitment

The promise of recruiting AI is generally summarised as follows:

• Analysing job applications for keywords, skills, and experience to identify the most qualified candidates more efficiently than any human could.
• Proactively searching for and identifying potential candidates across various platforms, including social media and professional networking sites.
• Analysing data to predict candidate performance and identify potential risks, such as poor cultural fit.

However, there is a recognised problem when using AI in recruitment. Simply put, the concern is bias. AI learns from past outcomes and past outcomes are often subject to human bias. I do not mean overt discrimination. After all, public and private sector employers are heading in the same general direction when it comes to corporate responsibility. However, an interest in balancing a workforce can introduce a level of positive discrimination. That happens when recruiting favours underrepresented groups in one’s workforce. Past decisions will influence AI decision making.

I read an example given by someone exploring the use of AI in recruiting. She applied for a job, but had the opportunity of seeing how the process worked on the other side of the desk. AI rejected her application, despite being an appropriate and highly qualified candidate. AI had seemingly identified a connection between particular sports and certain ethnic groups. Her disinterest in basketball played a part in the outcome.

Will Trump’s second term as President of the USA make a difference to AI’s evolution and uptake? It could be argued that Trump’s abandonment of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) goals could leave AI with a less complicated path towards recruiting. Nevertheless, that path is still complicated.

We must all be aware that AI is not algorithmic. It is not a machine that simply follows a set of instructions. AI learns and behaves differently over time. It also operates on a field of view that is much wider than human perception. AI can identify patterns in data that we humans do not. That is why AI outperforms qualified surgeons at identifying various cancers, tumours and other conditions. It ‘sees’ more in the data. It is also why AI can put into words what a person is thinking, just by analysing blood flow changes across the subject’s brain. The University of Texas in Austin has conducted successful experiments in this field.

In short, AI can do things that we can’t. It can become expert in tasks beyond human capability. It does things in a black box and those who are closest to AI do not understand how AI is thinking the things it thinks.

Do we want to live in a world where we can be deselected from a recruiting process because AI decided the outcome based upon data connections that are beyond our field of view?

Throttling the pace of AI adoption

Regulation and appetite are the two key throttles for AI improvement and deployment. Regulators are catching up but are still far behind in their understanding of AI’s advanced capabilities and potential impacts. As for appetite, suppliers are introducing AI into their products today. We are not in a consumer led market. Instead, suppliers are in a race to claim AI enablement as a stamp of efficiency or excellence in innovation. Of course, not all AI claims are genuine.

As for timing, almost all expert estimates of AI’s future impact and capability has been beaten. It is the only technology in history that has exceeded exponential improvement. As for its influence, Chat GPT was adopted faster than any other new technology in history. Whatever timescales are being suggested for further advances should perhaps be halved.

Here’s my concern in a nutshell. Those who are the very closest to AI are warning of its inherent risks, yet all markets appear to be disregarding them. They are implementing AI ahead of thorough understanding and responsible regulation. Why is that important for HR and recruiting? It is because issues may remain undetected in AI-led outcomes. That is to say that people generally don’t spend a lot of time reviewing rejected applications to determine whether decisions were made appropriately. That general theme runs across most jobs. We don’t check rejects, yet corporate responsibility means responsibility for those outcomes.

Whatever the future holds for us all, we should all be cautious about AI. AI powered processes could mean greater efficiency, but it could also result in a loss of control, understanding and human capability. What do I mean by that? Not so long ago, a car mechanic could be expected to fix an engine. Now a computer tells the mechanic that a component should be swapped. The mechanic obliges. Tomorrow an AI robot will analyse the issue and swap the component. The mechanic will be relegated to swapping the robot’s battery when needed. In the near future, a mechanic won’t know how to open the bonnet of a car because the robot will journey to the car and do its work unattended.

Where are we in this evolution? A BMW factory is already using AI humanoid robots on its production line. The Figure 2 robot is a self-learning humanoid that improve its own capabilities with time. It learns. They will shortly cost less per hour than a human worker, they don’t take cigarette breaks and they don’t strike. Well, they don’t strike yet!

Should we be worried about AI taking all jobs?

In the past, reskilling for new jobs was always an option when improved tools and processes disrupted markets. The loom and sewing machine increased manufacturing efficiencies in the textiles markets. Reducing the costs of manufacturing made products cheaper and cheaper products increased the size of the market. That resulted in more jobs.

The problem we perhaps now face is that AI is leaning into all jobs at the same time, including HR and recruiting. It may become the most efficient replacement of people for every job, not just an enabler for humans to become more efficient in specific roles or industries. The pinnacle of efficiency is that no human effort is required to do anything at all. That means no jobs, so no recruiting and no HR.

Am I being pessimistic? When we think Amazon, we generally think warehouse and delivery. AI and robotics are automating every part of the process. Now imagine automated farms, from ploughing to picking. Imagine Hospitals, from diagnosis to surgery. Imagine mining, from ore extraction to refinery and onward delivery, all automated. This is not science fiction, but an upcoming world of science reality. In this future world of total automation, what will people do? Perhaps AI will create some buttons for us to press so that we feel useful. Then, HR executives and recruiters will be able to press a button to automatically attract, select and on-board more people for button pressing duties.

If AI and robotics capabilities advance as predicted, and should supplier appetite for AI remain high, then only regulation can slow the global race to complete AI dominance. Meanwhile, all HR and recruitment personnel should remain vigilant if using AI in selection. AI is only as good as the data it is trained upon and I haven’t seen data that is free of bias. Despite Trump’s mandate to reverse diversity programmes, we assume that everyone still favours equality for all.

Footnote on AI Regulation

Every document I have seen on AI regulation, from military application downwards, cautions against thinking of AI as the type we have seen in the movies. I don’t understand the warning because that which we have seen in the movies is precisely where we are headed. I suggest to regulators that they quickly hire some science fiction authors to encourage lateral thinking on AI’s potential impacts. Perhaps then they might have a chance to outstep AI’s onward advance, because science fiction is already here.

Without effective regulation we run the risk that HR and recruitment will no longer be required. That is because AI and robotics may be able to work in every position across a workforce. Soon it may be cheaper to hire the greatest AI expert for any job, rather than an inferior human who likes to take long lunches. My advice? Skip lunch so that AI and robotics don’t eat yours.

Summary

In summary, AI is convincing people that it is human. It is being trained in many areas of the jobs market. It is becoming expert beyond human capability and robotics will give it manual dexterity to match that of humans within a few short years. AI adoption is rapid. There is much to discuss within the field of Human Resources, including AI’s use in recruitment and the workforce. Regulators must catch up before AI displaces an untold number of both skilled and unskilled workers. Watch out, because the proposed 4-day working week can only fuel AI ascendency in a world that wants 7-day per week productivity!