Employment law and the regulation of the use of artificial intelligence and automation in hiring and workplace management practices
Vin W
‘Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master’, remarked the Nobel Prize-winning philosopher Christopher Lous Lange in the 1920s. 1 This statement stands as true as it did a century ago, as the duality of technology manifests itself in the modern workplace, where the proliferating use of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping recruitment and employee management practices. One survey by IBM estimated that around 42% of companies are using AI to improve recruitment and human resources, 2 an unsurprising statistic considering the unparalleled efficiency these tools offer in both realms. The application of AI in various stages of hiring processes, including the advertisement of jobs, screening of resumes, assessment of candidates 3 and orientation of new hires 4 along with the use of AI in workplace management techniques – such as evaluating employee performance to determine compensation and promotions –, as well as constructing talent development programs based on individual skillsets 5 has brought immense productivity gains to HR departments across the world. However, beneath the facade of its merits lie a host of ethical issues, such as invasions of privacy, bias and discrimination, a troubling lack of accountability, and the unfair negligence of factors which may qualify a candidate for a job, presenting employment law – which stands as a bulwark of fairness and equity in the workplace – with an existential test.
1 Lange, C. ‘The Nobel Peace Prize 1921.’ NobelPrize.org , 13 Dec. 1921, www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1921/lange/lecture/. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
2 Lytton, C. (2024). AI Hiring Tools May Be Filtering out the Best Job Applicants . [online] BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240214-ai-recruiting-hiring-software-bias-discrimination [Accessed 31 Nov. 2024]. 3 ‘Unlocking Potential: Empowering Youth in an AI-Driven Recruitment Landscape.’ Eyfoundation.com , 2024, www.eyfoundation.com/en_uk/news/blog/unlocking-potential-ai-recruitment. Accessed 31 Nov. 2024. 4 Marr, B. ‘AI-Enhanced Employee Onboarding: A New Era in HR Practices.’ Forbes , 12 Dec. 2023 www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/12/12/ai-enhanced-employee-onboarding-a-new-era-in-hr- practices/. Accessed 31 Nov. 2024. 5 Nawaz, N. et al. ‘The Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Human Resources Management Practices.’ International Journal of Information Management Data Insights , vol. 4, no. 1, 1 Apr. 2024, p. 100208. sciencedirect , www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266709682300054X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jjimei.2023.100208. Accessed 31 Nov. 2024.
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