Status Quo of Artificial Intelligence’s Role in the HRM Operations

Abstract

Coexistence of technology and business dates back to the late 18th century when the first ever use of a computer was for recording the census by the US government in 1890. The use of technology in business can be ascribed to different organisations in the different nations on the parallel lines of time. It includes invention of cash machines and their use by Barclays in England in the early 1960s, the induction of telephone-based modems for order management by Baxter Pharmaceuticals and use of small desktop computing device called Minitel for processing customer orders in France were the other notable developments in the history of coexistence of technology and business. Increasing operations in the business functions have created an urge for the technological innovation in the industry to handle the operations electronically. Figueiredo and Cohen (2019) say that technology has become an indispensable component of every business function by delivering ease in operations and productivity. The end of the 20th century had witnessed the leaping progress in computing in the form of artificial intelligence (AI) performing the tasks that were unimaginable to comprehend a decade back in time. Developments in the technological research and development prove that organisations have started inducting AI into as many fields as possible at a considerable pace. As a part of the shifting technological dynamics in the industry HR function has also transformed digitally. Tools like enterprise applications have forayed intensely into the operations of human resources management (HRM). These enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools remain to primarily serve the integration of HRM to the other functions. However, enterprise tools could not serve the purpose of supporting decisiveness in the areas of HR planning, workforce design and performance management at large. However, Tuck (2019) argues that AI is assuming increased responsibilities in the different sections of the society and business including the HRM function. At present, the amount of knowledge on the status quo of the role of AI in the HRM functions is scarcely available. Literature related to this disruptive technology in the HR function is still at the nascent stage. This study will examine the role of AI as a key component in the HRM function, which is regarded to be highly human-driven.