Does HR still need humans?

Artificial intelligence can perform many of the duties of human resources staff, a symbol of how it is changing companies and the nature of work.

- Andrew Hill

At the height of the pandemic, RingCentral, a communications software company, hired 4,000 people to deal with a surge of clients as remote working took hold. But over the past two years, the company has cut its pandemic-era human resources (HR) team of 300 by nearly half. Head of HR, Mr Alvin Lam, has told his superiors that he cannot lose more people. But, if it came to it, he says he probably could cut back again.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as the company's HR chatbot Ringo would probably allow him to "figure out a way to continue to produce the same level of service (for) all our stakeholders and still be able to deliver".

Mr Lam's admission goes to the heart of the challenges facing companies as they grapple with the possibilities of generative AI. Executives in all areas are examining how, and how fast, they can use the technology in their own teams, while also defending themselves against the assumption that AI agents could perform many of their teams' duties more efficiently and more cheaply.

The removal of humans from human resources is emblematic of what could happen across many more corporate functions. "Almost all of my (HR) peers in (Silicon) Valley... are really struggling because (of the) consistent mandate from the C-suite," says Mr Lam, referring to top-level executives with "chief" in their titles. "Leverage AI to reduce workforce. Make sure the entire workforce are AI equipped; they say. That is something that we all struggle with."

It is still relatively early days. US Census Bureau second-quarter data on 1.2 million companies show just over 9 per cent reporting they had used generative AI in production of goods and services, though that figure is rising quickly.

Chief executives at large companies such as Salesforce, Amazon and JPMorgan Chase, however, are increasingly vocal about how jobs will be lost and productivity will improve as AI changes the nature of work.