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HR news and trends for 2024: Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence or AI is going to be extremely prominent in 2024, both from a governance and legal perspective, but also from a business strategy point of view. There has been much discussion about AI and the impact this will have on society and businesses in the future in the form of international conferences and forums and whilst this can perhaps feel intimidating for many organisations, it is essential that some form of consideration is given to AI as part of your business planning for 2024.

Whilst there has been plenty of scaremongering about the possibility of AI taking over roles within a business and this resulting in widespread redundancies, it may actually provide a massive opportunity for businesses. Imagine a time before the internet where letters were sent in the post and via fax machines, whereas now we can't imagine a time without all of the benefits that the internet brings to businesses. Indeed many could not operate without the internet and even if they could, the speed and efficiency of a business would be significantly reduced.

AI should be viewed in the same way. This may provide a very welcome opportunity for a business to improve efficiencies on day to day tasks which an employee may find mundane or you as a business have struggled to recruit for. These roles may provide employees with the opportunity to undertake the tasks which they find stimulating and rewarding and it may significantly reduce the time and effort needed to recruit for roles where traditionally it has been difficult to do so. This may also result in a costs saving to the business, with AI adding real value to a businesses bottom line.

However, whilst there are clear benefits to AI it is important to consider which AI system you will use, as there are pros and cons to various AI tools available. There may be also be costs attached to the AI system of choice to bear in mind. Of course there will be data protection considerations too, as if you are using AI to create a timeline of events for a grievance that has been submitted, for example, this may contain some special category data which the AI tool may then use to educate itself and use in the future.

It is imperative for businesses to be proactive and embrace different working methods, so it would certainly be useful to have a look at AI and consider how it could be used by your business, as an organisation that doesn't adapt may very well get left behind and face the economic consequences in the future. One way that a business could look at using AI is in their recruitment process, where this could be used to put together person specifications and job descriptions. However, this is a prime example of the dichotomy of AI as if AI has been used by a candidate when answering questions in a recruitment assessment, it may be that when that individual is called for interview, they may not be able to follow up on the written answers given in that assessment, resulting in a waste of time for that recruiting organisation and counteract the time that had been saved earlier in the process. AI will certainly contribute to an interesting and challenging time ahead in 2024.

For more information contact Gabriela Hammond in our Employment & HR department via email or phone on 01772 220149. Alternatively send any question through to Forbes Solicitors via our online Contact Form.

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