Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Artificial intelligenceAutomationLatest NewsEquality, diversity and inclusionJob creation and losses

Automation and AI: Brian Kropp on cost savings, ethics and inequality

by Adam McCulloch 5 Sep 2019
by Adam McCulloch 5 Sep 2019 Image: Phonlamai Photo/Shutterstock
Image: Phonlamai Photo/Shutterstock

Alongside Adam McCulloch’s in-depth report into the impact of AI and automation on the workplace, Brian Kropp, group vice president, Gartner HR, answers key questions on our readiness for the rise of automation.

 

Is automation primarily about using technology to save money for organisations?

Not as of right now. The reality is that the labour market is so tight for most organisations that they are leveraging technology to try to increase the productivity of employees and to improve the employee experience to stay to competitive for talent. However, this is the case as long as the labour market remains robust. If the economy, and then the labour market stumble, companies will likely shift their focus on technology investments to become more geared to costs savings.

Are we ready ethically for automation? 

No. To date, companies have largely been asking the question around what data is ethical to collect. But a second set of ethical questions emerges around what the decisions that emerge from the data and algorithms we are using. Currently, there is no consistent way that organisations are able to test and identify algorithmic biases.

Automation and artificial intelligence

How it will actually affect the workplace

HR directors must keep a finger on machine learning

Because of these factors, we believe that every HR function should have a statement on the ethical use of data and hire ethics experts to identify ethical challenges and support their general managers in navigating ethical dilemmas that are generated because of new technologies.

Is HR in the lead or lagging behind CIOs and CEOs on implementing change?

There are certainly different points of view on this question and the reality is different across organisations. However, an interesting data point is the difference between what the CEO and what the CHRO think about how well the organisation is prepared for the future of work. We find that while 56% of CEOs feel as though their senior leaders are prepared for the future of work, only 23% of CHROs believe this is the case. This split in points of view will likely make it difficult for CHROs to convince their CEOs that significant investments are needed here.

Will automation mean we all end up in the gig economy?

No. First, there are a handful of companies (eg Uber) whose business model is based on gig employees. There will continue to be those companies, but when you survey CEOs and CHROs, what you find is that over the next several years they expect less than 20% of their workforce to be contract employees.

In fact, automation might lower the number of employees who are gig workers. Gig workers are most likely to be engaged in repeatable, easily measurable tasks, with a clear set of right and wrong decisions. These are also the same tasks that are most likely to be automated.

While the idea of gig workers garners an enormous amount of attention, the reality is that it will remain a minority of the workforce for the foreseeable future.

Will social change as a result of automation grow inequalities or reduce them?

There is a strong risk that automation will worsen inequalities. Higher educated, more skilled employees are most likely to benefit from these technological changes because, on average, they are more likely to investors as well as workers, and their skill sets are the least vulnerable to automation. Employees with less education and/or lower skills are in jobs that, on average, are more likely to be automated. While automation puts all jobs at risks, it is just to different degrees. The most common scenario is that job losses attributable to automation are more likely to impact lower skilled employees.

There are two camps on automation, optimists (we’ll all be doing better work) and pessimists (mass unemployment, poverty awaits): who’s right?

In the short run, jobs are likely to be created as new innovations emerge and the labor market remains tight. However, over the long run the picture is much more cloudy. The most likely scenario is job losses occurring for lower skilled employees, and job gains occurring for more educated and skilled employees.

Adam McCulloch
Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch is a freelance writer and production editor who has worked in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He also works for a national newspaper and is the author of KentWalksNearLondon

previous post
Automation and AI: HR directors must keep a finger on machine learning
next post
Automation and AI: how it will actually affect the workplace

1 comment

Avatar
Adele Julie PRATER 10 Sep 2019 - 10:08 pm

An interesting view, however I would suggest the person highly skilled or lower skilled is likely to be retained for the roles where soft skills, caring, approachable and with strong relationship management and stakeholder engagement skills is a serious consideration. Empathy, emotional intelligence and having a good honest, trustworthy personality will far outweigh being highly skilled in my view.

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Estée Lauder staff win payout after being ‘sacked...

17 Mar 2022

Algorithms assault workers’ dignity, hear MPs as they...

11 Nov 2021

Technology is changing OH, and there’s more to...

20 Sep 2021

‘Fragmentation frustration’: Too many HR tools can hamper...

10 Sep 2021

C-suite leaders: HR is not playing a leading...

10 Sep 2021

Seven digital best practices for today’s HR (webinar)

29 Jul 2021

Where we work still matters, says Oxford economist

16 Jun 2021

Employers must be wary of laws surrounding automated...

28 Apr 2021

Oven-Ready HR Reheated: Dave Ulrich, Peter Cheese and...

16 Apr 2021

Embracing organisational agility as a CHRO: five key...

8 Apr 2021
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+