Mention almost any discussion of work in 2024, and artificial intelligence comes up. When people discuss AI, there is often a lot of fear and misunderstanding. One of the biggest concerns people have is the loss of jobs. Others worry that skills they’ve worked a lifetime to learn and hone will no longer be relevant since those tasks can be automated.
Some concerns are valid — and certain jobs will disappear (more on that below) — but there are also many upsides. The advent of AI could ultimately mean more opportunities for employees willing to pivot and build their skill sets. The upsides must be communicated along with the challenges. Human resource directors must learn to adjust to the changing workplace and communicate effectively about AI and what these changes mean.
What does the future of work look like with AI, and how will HR management change as AI becomes ubiquitous? If you are reading this, AI has already changed your job. You might get a prompt offering AI assistance with writing an email. AI might even offer to write an entire post. Or perhaps your company uses AI and big data to prospect new employee candidates or to learn more about customers and provide better service and recommendations.
Many changes are afoot, but don’t worry: humans aren’t being taken out of the workplace anytime soon. Those are unrealistic fears. But how people do their jobs might look much different in a few years. Here are five ways in which AI is changing the future of work and HR management.
- Repetitive Jobs Will Go Away: There is no reason to avoid the obvious. A whole class of jobs will likely be phased out, particularly in data entry, call centers, and assembly lines. If a job is repetitive, it won’t be around for the long haul. The upside is that many workers were never happy in these occupations in the first place. Few people stay in these positions long, and turnover is constant. For HR managers, repetitive jobs meant a constant churn of employees and applicants.
While a good number of these positions will disappear, a new class of jobs will rise thanks to AI, particularly for employees who keep their skills sharp and are willing to evolve. These jobs involve machine learning, research, cybersecurity, and more. Many of these jobs are lucrative and offer the opportunity to work remotely.
- Quality Human Will Matter More: This is a strange point to make in a piece on AI and work but hear me out. During the height of the pandemic, Zoom and remote tools provided the means to work remotely. After months people were burned out on these tools. What was missing was authentic human interaction. This is even more the case with AI. Having a good conversation with Chat GPT is impossible, and a “conversation” with an AI bot still seems stilted and unnatural. AI struggles with things humans do intuitively. Ironically, the rise of AI has reminded us of the infinite complexity of the human mind and the importance of connecting for real. The human mind is still evolving and has the power to solve enormous challenges. People are still the center of both business and technology.
In the age of AI tools, the quality of our interactions with people will still be the gold standard. Human intuition and creativity will be needed to take advantage of AI. Humans must assimilate data, learn from AI, and use it to manage their workforce better. AI tools won’t replace humans, but if used correctly, they will give humans more options to solve problems, build businesses, and harness ingenuity. HR managers will still be judged more by their work with people than their use of AI tools.
- Success Will Be Tied to Evolution: In the past, an employee with strong skills could expect a long career with a company. The nature of work is now changing daily thanks to AI, so it’s no longer that simple. HR managers must be realistic about how their workforce stays viable and employable. Professionals must be willing to step up and change as technology advances. A flexible mindset and an evolving skill set will be two of the most important attributes for HR managers and employees. The skills needed to build a career will change in weeks and months, not years.
- Training and Growth Will Be Tied to AI: Workplace training was static in the past. When employees arrived at an office, they received a handbook, perhaps took a few classes with their HR manager, and maybe even took a written test on company policies. That training is gone. Much of the training going forward will be handled by AI (full disclosure: my company DialogueTrainer designs an AI-powered workplace training system that uses virtual avatars to create conversation simulations and training scenarios).
The upside is that AI can sift through data and fine-tune training from each interaction. Improved training makes employees better at their jobs since each employee learns from best practices determined over thousands, if not millions, of interactions. Persistent problems and pitfalls can be found quickly via AI, so guesswork is eliminated. An HR manager can get to know someone and help them get situated, while AI training helps that employee do their job better.
- Strong Leadership Will Be Essential: AI will not outsmart humans for a long time. AI excels at scouring data for patterns and finding important details – not problem-solving. As AI becomes ubiquitous, strong leadership – both in HR and elsewhere in the workplace – will become even more important.
First, leaders must find the best ways to use AI tools to build business. Second, leaders must be discerning and make smart, calculated decisions about work based on findings from AI, their intuition, and worker feedback. Finally, a leader must have the innate belief that their human capital is most important and that AI is a very effective tool to build success – not a way to replace people.
An enormous amount of change is happening in how we work and sometimes even in who or what handles work. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed. Ultimately, the best realization an HR manager can make is that AI is a tool, but humans are essential. The new tools won’t replace people but will give them faster answers and help them discover new pathways to grow and excel.
