Is AI here to take our jobs?
I know what you (and everyone else) might be thinking: is AI here to take our jobs?
In our modern age, AI can be seen as two things: a helpful tool for alleviating the burden of day-to-day tasks… or a threat to our job security. According to a recent survey, 60% of employees who regularly use AI worry about its impact on their jobs, while 72% recognize that AI automation significantly increases productivity.3 But before we decide which of these things AI is, it’s important we ask ourselves: what role does AI really play in corporate settings?
In this article, we’ll cover some of the pros and cons of AI in the workplace, along with how we can continue to benefit from its advancements (rather than being replaced by them).
Automation
AI can automate repetitive and mundane tasks, freeing up employees to focus on more strategic and creative activities. Examples of AI technology that achieve this are cobots and chatbots.1
Cobots are seen in many factories and tech centers, using robotic arms to replace human labor when assembling tech and automobiles.1 This example illustrates that the professions most at risk of being replaced by AI are manual labor occupations.1 Chatbots, on the other hand, leverage AI by handling a high volume of customer service queries at once, endangering most of the workforce in call centers.1
Despite this automation, chatbots can only handle highly repetitive tasks, allowing humans to make a difference in areas where AI falls short.4 78% of customer experience leaders acknowledge that chatbots do not resemble digital agents and are only used to free up their team to handle more complex requests that require a human touch.4 Additionally, a study on Facebook users revealed that over 70% perceived their interactions with chatbots as “failures.”5 These are clear indications that AI cannot fully replace the workforce due to the continued need for human interaction.
Analytics
AI can also process and analyze large amounts of data quickly, providing insights and aiding users in faster decision-making. An example of this is how AI supports management through people analytics.1
People analytics aims to measure and report employee performance, generating key insights to help advise workforce planning, talent management, and operational management.1 40% of companies small and large now use AI-augmented applications in supporting workforce management.1 Not only do HR leaders rely on AI to create business insights but they also rely on AI to address “people problems.”1
Another area where business leaders turn to AI for analytics is for “prediction by exception,” where large data sets are processed to make predictions. Throughout this process, the algorithm is programmed to spot outliers and send notifications if human assistance or intervention is needed.1
In short, AI’s analytical abilities help business leaders make informed decisions. Through advantages like people analytics, AI can even help humans enhance their work environments and relationships. However, although AI can gather and analyze data, humans will still be needed to discern and apply this knowledge to minimize any biases that come with computer-generated performance ratings.
Human Resources
When it comes to recruitment and talent management, HR leaders rely on AI analysis in two parts: human capital management and performance management.1
Human Capital Management
Human capital management (HCM) involves hiring, retaining, and managing employees by aligning their performance feedback and compensation with business strategy, while also evaluating workforce costs.1
An example of AI-assisted technology for hiring is HireVue, an AI company that films job interviews to help try to minimize bias—such as when a hiring manager has unconscious prejudices about an interviewee’s age, race, or other demographics.1 Thanks to the preference ceteris paribus, hiring managers have a tendency to employ white heterosexual men.1 Thus, AI algorithms can help reduce this bias by pointing out this pattern, encouraging HR leaders to look toward building a more diverse and inclusive workforce.1
Performance Management
On the other hand, performance management employs AI to measure workplace productivity. This involves using technology to monitor and analyze bodily movements, offering recommendations for optimal workplace behaviors to enhance or sustain efficiency.1 These systems include time tracking devices or “smart cards” to swipe in or out, providing organizations insights and calculations for generating performance scores and rubrics to improve productivity.
Risks
While AI excels at data analysis and pattern recognition, it lacks human judgment, intuition, and creativity. Quantitating human activity renders each individual as calculable and comparable—which we all know is not the case. This is where the risks of using AI in the workforce lie.1 Here are just a few of them.
Occupational Health and Safety
AI monitoring systems put in place by companies can lead to increased time and performance pressure, potentially pushing employees to overwork or ignore safety standards.2 This reliance on output-based metrics endangers employees’ mental health by taking on mentally taxing shifts, as well as physical health by increasing the risk of injury.2 These systems also tend to minimize the need for human contact, which may be detrimental to employees’ emotional well-being.
Job Displacement
The swift integration of AI systems in the workplace might also result in a lack of proper training and insufficient time to adjust, potentially resulting in frictional unemployment.2
Although there is limited evidence of AI causing a net decrease in the number of jobs, the risk of automation persists. Workers encounter varying automation risks, influenced by factors such as their skills, occupation, and the size of their company.2 The OECD estimates that occupations at the highest risk of automation account for about 27% of total employment.2
Workplace Bias and Discrimination
Decision-making that is heavily reliant on algorithms fails to recognize ethical and moral considerations when it comes to productivity.1 Only relying on data poses a risk to physical health and emotional well-being.1 Workers may feel anxious, pressured, and even micromanaged if AI monitoring systems are the only metrics set in place to measure their performance. After all, such systems often fail to recognize each individual’s circumstances including health, contracts, experience, and training.1 Workers who are older or who have physical disabilities tend to experience this bias even more often.1
An abundance of concern is also shared by workers in their inability to view or understand which data they are being judged on.1,2 This uncertainty impacts workers’ mental health because of the stress and anxiety brought about by the lack of transparency and opportunity to redress.1,2
Workplace bias may also occur when AI systems, such as resume screening tools or algorithms for employee evaluations, can unintentionally favor certain groups while discriminating against others, negatively impacting workplace diversity and inclusion. For instance, if the hiring data used to train an AI model is biased against women or minority groups, the AI system may perpetuate this bias by recommending fewer of these candidates for interviews or promotions. Such exclusion also happens when facial recognition software performs more accurately on individuals with light skin, effectively excluding people of color from services or opportunities that rely on this technology. This reinforces inequality and limits opportunities for underrepresented individuals.
Interventions for Integrating AI into the Workplace
So what now? Whether we like it or not, AI is the future. As reluctant as companies may be to implement AI due to its high cost, data and privacy security, plus traditional employment practices, AI has also proven to streamline and improve many work processes. But how do we adopt AI while mitigating the risks?
Implement Protective and Preventive Measures
To maintain occupational health and safety measures, companies should be ready to train workers on integrating AI and inform them of any potential risks.2 This includes taking into consideration labor laws, risk management, health and safety assessments, as well as compliance and regulation.2 Constant monitoring and regular audits should also take place before, during, and after to ensure AI’s proper integration.2
Uphold Workers’ Dignity and Rights
No matter what form AI takes, human oversight is still needed to assess a wide range of complexities when it comes to employment such as workers’ safety, rights, and opportunities.2 Making sure that those who are vulnerable and underrepresented are also involved in the implementation and setup of AI systems can also decrease the risk of bias and discrimination in the workplace.2 Having clear boundaries set for AI involvement in the workforce can safeguard workers’ well-being.2
From Competitor to Coworker
Overall, we must remember that AI was originally intended to improve our way of life and not to be overrun by it. By implementing safeguards and standards for AI, we can reap its benefits without compromising the safety and well-being of employees. The workforce must be able to implement yet constantly adapt to the challenges and risks it may present by having constant dialogues and assessments on how AI is integrated. The possible reality where AI takes our jobs can remain fiction—as long as we prepare for it now.
References
- Article from the book Work in the Age of Data. Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace: What is at Stake for Workers? https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/articles/artificial-intelligence-in-workplace-what-is-at-stake-for-workers/
- OECD. (March 15, 2024). Using AI in the workplace Opportunities, risks and policy responses. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/science-and-technology/using-ai-in-the-workplace_73d417f9-en
- Kelly, J. (Jan 8, 2024). Workers Who Use Artificial Intelligence Are More Likely To Fear That AI May Replace Them. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2024/01/08/workers-who-use-artificial-intelligence-are-more-likely-to-fear-that-ai-may-replace-them/
- Hills, T. (Mar 28, 2024). The Top 10 Benefits of Chatbots in Customer Service. https://www.helpscout.com/blog/benefits-of-chatbots-in-customer-service/#:~:text=Chatbots%20can't%20replace%20your,that%20require%20a%20human%20touch
- Song, M. Xing, X. Duan, Y. Cohen, J. Mou, J. (2022, May). Will artificial intelligence replace human customer service? The impact of communication quality and privacy risks on adoption intention. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0969698921004665
- Upskill Universe. Bias in AI: An Unseen Enemy of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace. https://upskilluniverse.com/bias-in-ai/#:~:text=Discrimination%20in%20Hiring%20and%20Promotion,and%20inclusion%20in%20the%20workplace
About the Author
Nicole Torres
Nicole is an experienced digital marketer with a background in design and information architecture.
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