Early fearmongering around AI told us that the technology would come for our jobs, and there does appear to be some truth to the fears. IBM reportedly replaced “the work of a couple hundred” HR roles with AI agents to better streamline business at the organization. Arvind Krishna, the CEO of IBM, confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that its investments in AI allowed it to cut down the number of HR workers at the organization.
There are no details on how many were affected by the IBM HR layoffs in favor of AI, but the news has been disheartening for many to see. The CEO spun the IBM AI transformation as a positive story as this particular cut allowed the businesses to hire more actively in other areas of the organization, but this hasn’t allowed workers to feel any more at ease. The future of HR is being reshaped by AI and this isn’t entirely a negative turn of events, although reports like this continue to paint a very morose picture for workers everywhere.
IBM is doubling down on its AI-first strategy to replace HR with AI and encouraging other businesses to do the same. (Image: Pexels)
IBM Replaces HR with AI but the News Isn’t All Bad
IBM’s AI takeover of HR functions is a clear example of both the good and bad that come with AI adoption. According to the WSJ report, IBM replaced a couple of hundred HR workers with AI agents, but this allowed the company to free up resources to hire more workers in programming and sales instead.
“While we have done a huge amount of work inside IBM on leveraging AI and automation on certain enterprise workflows, our total employment has actually gone up, because what it does is it gives you more investment to put into other areas,” the CEO told The Wall Street Journal.
IBM’s AI Takeover of HR Was Intended to Automate Repetitive Tasks
As alarming as the news sounds on the surface, IBM’s AI transformation was intended to shift employee focus from repetitive, rote tasks in order to invest resources in areas that required more critical thinking and active application of human capabilities. While HR responsibilities extend far beyond basic tasks of documentation and repetitive action, there is indeed a section of their responsibilities that requires an unnecessary amount of manual work that can be handled by AI and other software.
In a previous statement, Ji-eun Lee, CTO at IBM, revealed that its AskHR agent was able to automate 94% of routine HR tasks, for example, payroll management or vacation requests. These tools are about eliminating repetitive work in the same way a Google form can simplify the task of recording employee data.
Does this mean that HR teams can be entirely replaced by AI? Not in the slightest. HR teams oversee the human section of the company’s investments and their active involvement keeps organizations running more efficiently than any impersonal tool ever could. While it’s true that IBM replaced a section of HR with AI, it is highly unlikely that the HR role itself will ever become redundant as long as an organization has employees.
Are HR Jobs Being Held Hostage by the AI Threat?
AI-first enterprise IBM isn’t just looking into applying its AI innovation at its own company, but also providing its resources to other organizations. This is an unsettling thought as it implies that more businesses will start looking into automating their HR requirements and could hire fewer workers for HR. Unfortunately, this isn’t exclusively an HR problem but a concern for employment in any industry, whether you consider coding or marketing.
As we grow more comfortable with AI and businesses continue flooding the market with highly specialized tools for niche tasks, there will inevitably be an increase in the number of organizations using these tools instead of hiring workers.
Still, this does not mean that workers will become entirely redundant. There will always be a need for experts to manage the workforce, address their concerns, resolve disputes, negotiate offers, and build the company culture. Businesses that forget this will quickly learn that their services will remain incomplete and unconvincing without a human touch.
The IBM Approach Is a Controversial One
IBM’s experience with replacing HR with AI is a particularly graphic one and not the path we’d recommend taking. In a post on the website, the company explained that it has endeavored to infuse AI into HR since 2017, and it has been a journey of both mistakes and victories. The post paints a nightmarish scenario of cutting off access to HR to force employees to “start thinking and acting differently” and using its AskHR AI tool. This allowed the company to improve the tools and build it up to sell to other businesses.
As predatory as the strategy sounds, it makes it clear that HR tools are evolving and will soon be the top choice for employers who prefer to pay a business instead of multiple workers. Under conditions like this, upskilling, reskilling, and learning where the industry is headed is recommended for those who want to pursue a career in HR.
It is Time for HR to Evolve With the Changing Times
Despite all odds, the future of HR is set to be AI-powered. AI tools will continue to threaten some jobs, but HR workers will have to evolve with the times and ensure they make their relevance felt in the organization. As AI tools gain popularity, employees will have to familiarize themselves with them to show how they can put them to good use.
Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) have been around for years now, automating tasks and assisting HR with performing their duties better. AI is simply an evolution of this technology and should be treated as another skill to master.
If an AI takes over payroll management, HR teams should shift their focus to other areas such as employee productivity or engagement instead. If HR leaders no longer have to manage vacation requests, they can instead focus on creating and enforcing better leave and vacation policies to aid the organization.
Of course, a lot of these changes hinge on employers giving HR workers a chance to prove themselves and their capabilities in the first place. IBM’s AI transformation may feel like a victory for the company, but employees who are hired can no longer continue to work at their best when they’re in constant fear of being replaced.
AI Replacing HR Jobs is Not an Ideal Strategy
On the employer front, despite how appealing IBM’s AI transformation might sound, it is important to be cautious about how you adopt AI. As much of a cost-saving measure as artificial intelligence might appear to be, customers and employees will always prefer to talk to a human.
Fintech company Klarna bet all its money on AI but has now turned back to hiring workers to fill in roles at the organization to placate customers. A recent survey found similar results, with many business leaders regretting their rushed investments in artificial intelligence. Just like any other technology, an informed approach is essential to this still-evolving enigma. The tools are not perfect, and thus their implementation needs to be carefully and gradually considered.
HR jobs are faced with an AI threat, it’s true, but there is still room for HR workers to evolve and prove their value to employers. Times are changing, but they haven’t changed enough to make workers entirely redundant.
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