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HR departments around the globe are trying to figure out how to implement AI into their company’s workflow, increase productivity, and cut down on busy work. But bosses may already be taking matters into their own hands and turning to robots when it comes to high-stakes personnel decisions.
Around 60% of managers rely on AI to make choices about their direct reports, according to a new survey from Resume Builder, a career website. Out of this cohort, managers are using the technology to determine raises (78%), promotions (77%), layoffs (66%), and terminations (64%).
Those statistics are concerning enough, but the training that these managers have under their belts while they ask AI for help makes them even more frightening. Only about 32% of managers using AI to manage people have received formal training to ethically do so, according to the report. And around 24% have received no training at all.
“It’s essential not to lose the ‘people’ in people management,” says Stacie Haller, a career expert at Resume Builder. “While AI can support data-driven insights, it lacks context, empathy, and judgment. AI outcomes reflect the data it’s given, which can be flawed, biased, or manipulated. Organizations have a responsibility to implement AI ethically to avoid legal liability, protect their culture, and maintain trust among employees.”
The latest study on how bosses are actually using AI emphasizes how untamed the practice really is in corporate America. Although companies are talking the talk when it comes to how they want employees to use LLMs, far fewer are walking the walk and creating coherent training and guidelines for their workforce.
That freeform nature of AI use we’re seeing right now is exactly why some states like Colorado have already passed legislation to try and create guardrails about what kind of consequences an employee can suffer because of AI. Others, like California, are in the middle of trying to pass their own bills—if a long-promised federal AI legislation moratorium doesn’t interrupt them first.
There’s no doubt about it, our AI reality is here. And along with an overwhelming obsession with productivity, companies need to start asking themselves about the more human side of AI, and how individuals might turn to the technology in unexpected ways as a method to guide their decisions. After all, no employee wants to hear about how they were ultimately terminated by a robot.
“Organizations must provide proper training and clear guidelines around AI, or they risk unfair decisions and erosion of employee trust,” says Haller.
Azure Gilman
azure.gilman@fortune.com
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com