ADVERTORIAL
It’s like Google on steroids
Mike Fitzsimmons, senior policy consultant at Moorepay , discusses some of the positives of chatbots, but also shines a light on the darker side of the development M ore than half (56%) of UK businesses use artificial intelligence (AI) to some degree within their organisation, according to research conducted by Microsoft in provide you with just what you want. And it’s presented in seductively attractive,
role, you must have very clear policies to regulate usage. Also, be careful when searching for chatbots. Fraudsters and scammers are already circling. You may be offered access or, indeed, improvements via sponsored links such as Google Ads. You could, inadvertently, download a malicious extension. At the more innocent end of the spectrum, you may pay for something that’s free. (In the same way some sites charge you to apply for a free UK global health insurance card). More sinister, however, is possibly importing malware which could, for example, hijack your authentication data. Key takeaways for using AI in a payroll and HR context l use it responsibly – never blindly accept what it churns out l check and cross check – human intervention and thought is always essential l ensure legality – especially equalities and data protection considerations l never input personal or confidential data l have very clear policies about staff use – reinforced with effective training. l ensure you’re accessing products like ChatGPT directly. Most importantly, and however credible that AI draft may look, it’s a ‘scraped’ comparison. It’s not original thinking. It doesn’t include guidance or advice and isn’t formulated to meet your specific needs. Chatbots such as ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing and Google’s Bard basically consume and then reproduce whatever data is input. The philosophy of ‘caveat emptor’ (let the buyer beware) has been a well- trodden legal concept for over 500 years. But it’s never more relevant than now. Use chatbots with care and caution. q
grammatically competent language. By the way, it’ll also plan your holiday, suggest advantages and disadvantages of different cars, offer concerts and festivals to your musical taste or provide the menu for tonight’s dinner. What’s not to like? Well, Open AI, the laboratory behind ChatGPT issues a note of caution. It may sometimes write plausible sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers. They say, “AI systems are becoming part of everyday life. The key is to ensure that these machines are aligned with human intention and values. AI technology comes with tremendous benefits, along with serious risk of misuse.” What should you be wary of when contemplating AI? So, can you rely on what you’re offered? ChatGPT itself says, “while we have safeguards in place, the system may occasionally generate incorrect or misleading information and produce offensive or biased content. It is not intended to give advice.” Chatbots also suffer from what’s called ‘algorithmic bias’. The results they offer effectively rely on a comparison of existing source material. They don’t think; they compare. While chatbots may propose actions for you, they don’t offer guidance, advice or legal compliance. Neither does AI have any regard to data protection considerations. Open AI is exactly that. Open. To everyone. Never input personal data or, indeed, sensitive or company confidential information. Who knows where it will end up. And you may be vicariously liable for actions your staff take. If you allow them to use products like ChatGPT within their
partnership with Goldsmiths, University of London. So, when applied to payroll and human resource (HR) issues, are we at a momentous crossroads or could we be jumping off a cliff? 30 years ago, you consulted your 20 volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (assuming you were rich enough). This offered 500,000 topics in 40 million words. We took AA roadmaps on holiday and consulted an A to Z to navigate larger towns. It’s fewer than 40 years since mobile phones with the dimensions, weight and technological limitations of a house brick emerged. Three decades later, we’ve morphed through the internet. Satellite navigation guides our cars. Our personal assistants, Siri and Alexa, answer our questions. Google provides instant responses to everything. A thousand other life- enhancing applications are available on our smartphones. We may not understand AI, but we’ve happily embraced it. What is ChatGPT and how can payroll and HR teams use it to automate tasks and processes? Now we’re at another exciting crossroads. The new kid on the block is ChatGPT. A fantastic, free, machine learning tool with plenty of payroll and HR applications. It can be programmed to automate payroll calculations, enable employees to check their payslips and update personal information, write your job adverts and descriptions, produce reports and even prepare dismissal letters. It ‘scrapes’ 300 billion words to
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 91 | June 2022
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