The HR and Talent sectors have been in awe, fear or just completely confused about the application of Artificial Intelligence (or AI) within our industry, but what was once the stuff of blockbuster movies featuring Will Smith, is quickly becoming a reality. The dawn of Artificial Intelligence has arrived.

What does this mean for the HR and Talent sector? In an industry that is based on people and human interactions, is there a role for AI and, if so, what is it?

Removing Bias

A big challenge faced by many originations is the issue of unconscious bias, a human trait which results in bias towards individuals based on their characteristics. In an age where it is widely recognized that a diverse work force adds tremendous value and improved results, many organisations still struggle to achieve this.

AI will aid in the removal of unconscious bias, given the objective, data-based nature of the conclusions it offers without the influence of experiences, prejudices and education that human decisions will inexorably have.

However, technology inevitably reflects its creators in a myriad of ways, concious and unconcious. The tech industry remains very male and is fairly culturally homogenous. This lack of diversity is reflected in the products it produces. For instance, AI assistants like Apple's Siri or Amazon Alexa have default female names, voices and personas, and deemed helpful and passive supporters of a users lifestyle. Meanwhile, their male-branded counterparts like IBM's Watson or Salesforce's Einstein are perceived as complex problem solvers tackling global issues.

The Value of AI?

Currently, when applying AI in HR, the emphasis is on automating parts of the HR workflow, such as CV screening, responding to applicant emails or marking competency tests, however by removing admin-heavy processes, AI automation will give recruiters time to focus on more strategic areas and in the future will remove the need for all these processes, ultimately removing the CV altogether, enabling talent to be sourced solely on skillset and mindset…  Still need convincing...?

Infographic courtesy of: Josh Bersin

We spoke with Rick Roberts founder and CEO of Genesys Talent, which focuses on proactively building AI based talent communities across numerous skill sets in the United States. 

“Today, even the best recruiting platforms lead to a high degree of mismatched opportunities for job seekers and employers.  As seasoned recruiters with decades of experience successfully placing candidates in jobs, we are inventing a better way through our MatchList solution, The key is our aggregation of candidates into social skills circles before they need a job.  When an opportunity arises, we already know the candidates and their skill matrix, allowing us to use AI to perform a better match. This dramatically improves the experience and success in finding a more perfect fit.  We are incredibly excited about what this means for our candidates in terms of their ability to engage with clients in the SAP ecosystem, allowing them to be matched in a material way to numerous job opportunities.”

About Genesys Talent

With decades of recruiting process and technology experience under their belts, they set out to change the way people looking for work connect with the organizations seeking them – and to create an exceptional, higher value experience and result for both sides of that work equation. Many of the solutions to date focused primarily on technology, online market places or wholesale reinvention of existing ways of doing things. They recognized that while outdated and somewhat “broken” as a whole, the traditional methods had gotten a few things right that were clearly important and worth refining and carrying forward.

By taking a constructively critical look at what worked and what didn’t, and then building those enhanced processes into a cloud-based technology, they developed a new approach that brings together workers with the companies that need them. Beyond the immediate, more direct benefits to both work seekers and those seeking their skills, Genesys unleashes a whole new spectrum of opportunities to reimagine talent.

Lets embrace AI

AI is not some futuristic vision, but rather something that is here today and being deployed across the HR and recruitment sectors. There are numerous examples of where AI is already making an impact on the world and augmenting human capabilities in significant ways. So, rather than stand back and watch pondering from afar, get on board, embrace and help to shape this movement.