Everyone has been harping about how artificial intelligence needs to be embraced; how it will not steal our jobs but only allow everyone time to focus on more things that need our special attention. Yes, it is true that managers can now rely on AI to predict employee turnover; to provide real-time feedback to employees so that they can be given support and guidance at the right time; to view the performance of their team members; to offer tailored coaching to employees to improve their skills, and more. But can AI also help managers decide which one of their direct reports should be terminated or how much salary increment should certain employees be given? Looks like the AI invasion has gone too far.
Yes, a report by Resume Builder shows that six in 10 managers rely on AI to help them make decisions related to their direct reports.
This is rather unsettling. It is true that we have all come to terms with AI matching candidates to job descriptions and helping streamline the hiring process. Although it wasn’t a comfortable thought at first, most job seekers today have made peace with the fact that they will have to deal with AI at almost all stages of the hiring process, right up to the final interview. But AI telling your manager whether to retain or fire you, or how much of a raise you should get? That is quite worrisome.
The survey covered 1,342 US managers with direct reports. About 78 per cent of these managers admitted to using AI to determine increments for their direct reports. A good 77 per cent allowed AI to decide whom to promote and 64 per cent relied on AI to decide whom to terminate and 66 per cent to decide layoffs. More than one in five depended on AI to make a final decision about their direct reports without any human input! Wait, there’s more: a good majority (71 per cent) are confident of AI’s decision-making abilities, considering its decisions about employees as being fair and unbiased!
Another alarming finding is that two-thirds of these 1,342 full-time managers with direct reports, are using AI to manage employees without having received any formal training on how to do so. What is even more concerning is that nearly 50 per cent of these managers were tasked with assessing whether AI can replace their reports!
About 65 per cent of managers said they used AI tools at work, and a whopping 94 per cent of these used AI tools to make decisions about the people who report to them. And ChatGPT was the most popular AI tool, with 53 per cent managers using it. While 29 per cent used Copilot, 16 per cent relied on Gemini.
Almost all the AI-using managers rely on AI tools to create training materials, while 94 per cent use AI tools to create employee-development plans. Ninety-one per cent rely on AI tools for employee-performance assessment, while 88 per cent use it to draft performance-improvement plans (PIPs).
With so much confidence shown in AI’s decision-making prowess, it is not surprising that a good number of managers allow AI to operate with very little supervision. In fact, at least 20 per cent say they do not require any human input when AI is on the job. Five per cent let AI make important decisions without human input all the time, while 24 per cent let it do so sometimes. Of course, these managers are all open to intervening if they happen to disagree with what AI recommends.
But then, when only 32 per cent of these managers have been trained on the ethical use of AI in people management, how fair can their decisions be?
Only about 43 per cent of the managers admitted to having received some informal guidance, while 24 per cent said they hadn’t been trained at all on how to use AI to manage people. Can such managers actually be able to use AI effectively without losing or adversely impacting the very people whom they are supposed to manage?
After all, AI relies on data is fed into it to provide outcomes. What happens if the data that has been input is biased or inaccurate? What if the data itself has been influenced? Artificial intelligence cannot make a wise judgement based on context. Also, it is incapable of empathising. So how can an important decision such as an increment or a termination be left to AI? Won’t employees lose trust in their managers then?
Unless managers are given clear guidelines on how to use AI ethically, decisions pertaining to employees will continue to be at risk of being unfair.
Harm is already being done for sure, because 46 per cent of the managers who participated in the survey said they were expected to use AI to assess whether AI can replace certain positions. While 57 per cent had already been suggested by AI to replace the position, a good 43 per cent had actually gone ahead and followed the recommendation and replaced an employee with AI! If that is not unsettling, what is?