On 19 March, the third workshop of the 2023-2024 edition of the HR Innovation Practice Observatory was held, entitled 'HR and AI: the evolution through human resources management'. The workshop delved into the impacts of artificial intelligence on the world of human resources management, through the presentation of data from the Observatory's Research and a workshop activity in working groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On 13 March 2024 the Parliament of the European Union<\/strong> approved the text of the 'AI Act', the EU regulation introducing a set of rules in the use of artificial intelligence. Following the rapid technological developments of recent years, institutions around the world are wondering what the impacts of theArtificial Intelligence in everyday life<\/strong> of people and in the world of work. What is the reason for the hype and interest around AI? Compared to the past, when technology mainly impacted manual and easily automated tasks, today, with the advent of generative AI, the transformation embraces mainly 'knowledge workers'. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Generative AI can, in fact, perform creative, analytical and writing tasks. Consequently, all language- and creativity-based jobs can be impacted, with important implications in terms of productivity. There are, however, several points of attention with respect to the use of these technologies. First of all, AI systems can generate 'hallucinations', i.e. incorrect but nevertheless plausible results. As the capacity of AI increases, humans may lose the incentive to strive to produce better results, with a negative effect on the accuracy of output. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A further risk is the possible loss of distinctiveness of the work. In this regard, a BCG study found that the diversity of ideas among participants who used GPT-4 for innovation-related tasks was lower by 41% than among the group that did not use this technology. Also not to be underestimated are aspects related to the presence of possible bias in the training of AI models, ethical implications and compliance with data privacy regulations. Resistance on the part of people should not be underestimated when making this change, especially if they do not trust the predictions produced by the algorithms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The workshop continued with the presentation of some data from the Observatory's surveys on the topic. An interesting fact emerged from the survey on HR Management. The spread of generative Artificial Intelligence solutions is actually stimulating HR teams' experimentation with new technologies. Until last year, Artificial Intelligence systems were scarcely widespread within HR Management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, about 40% of HR departments are experimenting with the use of generative AI solutions. In which areas? Primarily for candidate search activities (e.g. to write job descriptions) and in the area of training (e.g. to design training content). The main benefit observed is the improvement of efficiency and productivity in carrying out activities. What, however, are the barriers to adoption? Mainly the lack of people's skills in using these tools and the organisation's ability to lead and support this change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What role does HR management play in this transformation? The analysis shows that HR's main task is to accompany people in the evolution of their skills and their role within the organisation. Generative Artificial Intelligence, having the potential to automate activities and improve others, poses a major challenge for HR Management: to understand how to redesign people's roles so that they do not become obsolete and benefit the most from these new technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Observatory's research also involved a representative panel of 1500 white and blue collar workers in the Italian context. About one in four people already use tools based on generative Artificial Intelligence to carry out their work activities, albeit to varying degrees. The percentage increases significantly among members of Generation Z, where use reaches more than one in two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Specifically, what is AI Gen used for? A variety of activities: from writing documents to generating ideas and analysing data, although a large part of the sample uses the technology as a replacement for search engines, thus not exploiting its full potential. Regarding people's perceptions of technology, a mixed picture emerges: about half of the sample say they are worried about their jobs becoming precarious or losing future employability in the labour market, while the other half see it as an opportunity to improve their skills and work more efficiently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the benefits, the Observatory notes an alignment between the perceptions of workers and HR management: the emphasis is on increased productivity and efficiency. For people, the theme of reduced workloads emerges, indicating a possible positive impact on their mental health and well-being. In addition, the survey shows a strong interest on the part of people in training on these technologies: the majority, in fact, express a desire to participate in training courses on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the concluding phase of the presentation, the Observatory emphasised how Artificial Intelligence in this historical moment can help organisations on two fronts. On the one hand, it can help respond to the problem of Talent Shortage, i.e. the lack of professionals with the skills sought, which is very strong on some profiles, especially with high digital skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How? By automating repetitive tasks and thus freeing up time and energy for more value-added activities. In addition, the use of AI systems can also lead to less dependence on hard-to-find skills on the market, enabling some workers to perform tasks for which they would not otherwise have the skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, the use of Ai systems can also facilitate the redesign of organisational contexts by fostering people's well-being and the attractiveness of organisations. How? By balancing workloads, favouring the experimentation of new ways of organising work such as the short week and increasing the attractiveness for new generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To adequately accompany this transformation, the individual efforts of individuals, organisations and the country system are not enough. Teamwork is needed to design an effective strategy and not miss this opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHR Directorate Research<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Research on workers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What prospects then for the future?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n