Leaders from seven companies—Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI—met with President Biden on a Friday afternoon earlier this month, pushing the White House to facilitate security and safety measures relating to AI. A fact sheet released by the administration says it is “currently developing an executive order and will pursue bipartisan legislation to help America lead the way in responsible innovation.”
While these organizations aren’t necessarily HR platforms, they are the tools people in your workplace use regularly. What comes of this will make an impression on millions of people worldwide, ultimately influencing how they interact with AI. Has your team already embraced new HR tech tools? Are you waiting until more safety guidelines are in place? Are you using features from trusted platforms but waiting to adopt functions that break new ground? There’s no right answer, but we are here to help you see all the angles to boost confident decision-making.
HR Tech in action
Over half of employees would reinvest time they save from using AI into learning and skill development, according to a May survey from Visier, which found that nearly all of the respondents said that developing new skills in the workplace is important. The study notes that given the “recent generative AI boom, 61% of employees also expressed concern that the skills they currently have could be replaced by AI in the future.” More to come on how your team can minimize organizational stress while maximizing skills and tech.
According to AARP, an estimated 38 million Americans care for loved ones. That means that more than 11% of the population is an unpaid caregiver. This number likely includes people from your team and organization. SupportPay this month announced an expansion of its payment platform to all caregivers—previously aimed just at parents—which can be offered as a unique employee benefit to help employees manage finances across multiple households.
Business Insider reported on AI-generated headshots for use on LinkedIn. Images and user impressions of the app have gone viral on TikTok and, while some people praise their headshots, others say they are idealized, generalized or otherwise lacking authenticity. Finn Bartram, an expert with the publication People Managing People, recently shared a note of caution with HRE: “It is very concerning that so many people are using this technology, with little awareness of the dangers it could be creating.”
Humans ‘more involved than ever,’ as generative AI enters the workplace
I just sat in on a webcast from Mercer called Generative AI for HR: Leading a tectonic shift in business. Presenter Jason Averbook, senior partner and global leader in digital HR strategy, encouraged the audience to experiment with generative AI. He and Jim Holincheck, principal of transformation services, also presented a roadmap for the deployment of an organization’s new technology.
“The change that’s needed is not about eliminating humans,” said Averbook. “We’re going to make humans more involved than ever.”
In a press event, Zig Serafin, CEO at Qualtrics, said that AI will help companies act quickly and create meaningful interactions. “This deepens relationships between organizations and the people that matter most, all while respecting privacy and operating transparently and responsibly,” according to Serafin.
I recently completed a survey that my son’s university sent to me. It was powered by Qualtrics, which recently announced the launch of XM/os2: The Next Generation of The Qualtrics Platform Fully Enabled With AI.
My point here? As users of digital resources, we are all moving closer to becoming massive users of generative AI—even if that’s not our intention. Some HR professionals are at the ground level of introducing new technology to the workplace, while others will discover assets and tools through an introduction by organizational leaders or personal encounters such as a college survey.
Leadership and modern tech
A story published by Fortune on the impact of AI on C-suite employment presents two sides of the coin. Ultimately, the author says that AI won’t “displace a human C-suite executive, because a digital replacement would have to do more than master tasks.” And it would also have to satisfy regulators, which isn’t likely. More to come on the regulation topic as it unfolds in the U.S. because—until that’s settled—many people will continue to have doubts about compliance, ethics and transparency.
Europe is ahead on that horizon, putting forth regulation back in 2021. “On artificial intelligence, trust is a must, not a nice-to-have,” said Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission executive vice president in charge of digital policy in a statement published by The New York Times. “With these landmark rules, the E.U. is spearheading the development of new global norms to make sure AI can be trusted.”
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Hear insights from a joint Valoir-Human Resource Executive study on the risk, potential, consideration and adoption of generative AI throughout HR presented by Rebecca Wettemann, principal of Valoir. You’ll learn how to build an AI readiness checklist for your organization, how to ask the right questions of HR tech vendors about AI and understand the HR policies and practices needed to ensure your organization manages the use of generative AI to maximize its benefits and minimize its risk. Grab your spot now.
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