The adoption of AI is rapidly growing across all sectors. Many employers already integrate AI into their recruitment processes, and recent studies reveal that a majority of employees are also using some form of AI in their daily work. However, in many cases, employers are unaware that their staff are using these tools, let alone how or for what purpose. This lack of oversight can expose businesses to significant risks, including potential data breaches and compliance issues.

In a stark warning to employers embracing remote hiring, an unidentified company based in the UK, US, or Australia was recently hacked after inadvertently employing a North Korean cyber-criminal as a remote IT contractor. The individual, who used fake credentials and forged documents, worked undetected for four months, gaining access to internal systems, siphoning sensitive data, and ultimately issuing a ransom demand.  Cybersecurity firm Secureworks, which investigated the breach, reported that the hacker exploited the firm’s remote access tools to carry out the attack. The incident highlights growing risks in remote recruitment, particularly when identity verification processes are weak or outdated.

As with most technology, AI is likely to get more sophisticated over the coming years and so it is important that organisations get to grips with AI and have the necessary policies and procedures in place to protect their business.

Whilst the use of AI is not all bad, it must be treated with caution and any  outputs should be checked (by a human) to limit any potential risks.

Advantages of AI in the Workplace 

• Saving time and money, whilst increasing staff morale

When properly implemented, AI can excel at handling repetitive tasks, such as data entry, that employees often find tedious or unfulfilling.

Using AI for repetitive tasks can increase staff productivity by allowing employees  to concentrate on tasks they find engaging, enhancing both morale and job satisfaction, as well as reducing  human error in mundane tasks. 

For employers, the use of AI in the recruitment process has also been seen to reduce hiring time by up to 90%, by identifying inefficiencies in current recruitment processes and by automating parts of the process (e.g. CV sifting), to save both time and money.

• Improving customer service

Most of us will have experienced a chatbot, or automated response, when contacting a company,  it is something we are all familiar with and although they may not always deliver the best service, the use of chatbots and automated responses can help customers receive information that they need quickly without the need, or expense, of human intervention.

• Saving time in decision making

AI tools can be used to analyse large amounts of data quickly and provide information on trends and patterns, that will enable better and more efficient decision-making.

The Drawbacks of AI in the Workplace

As with all advantages, they must be managed, and it may take some time (and cost) to implement AI across your workplace or to implement a system that you are happy with your staff using.

Here are some considerations to keep in mind:

• The human touch

AI still has a way to go in adding the ‘human touch’ to our interactions. AI is unable to offer the same reassurance and comfort as a human and is yet to grasp empathy and the impact of a personal connection, when dealing with certain tasks or interactions. 

Interactions that are only dealt with by AI are likely to lead to low employee (and customer) engagement and a decrease in staff morale.

• Bias and discrimination in decision making

Research by the University of Washington Information School has highlighted that previous AI models used in recruitment, have been shown to favour white males in 85% of the cases considered. So, whilst the use of AI can reduce the time taken to make decisions, the decisions should still be considered and reviewed by a human, to reduce the risk of bias.

It is important to ensure that the data that the AI tool is trained on, doesn’t have historical bias (and if it does, how that can be addressed and avoided in future decisions)?

• Confidentiality & privacy concerns

As mentioned earlier, the extent to which employees share confidential information with AI chatbots and software is often greater than anticipated.  It’s essential to establish clear policies and guidelines, to ensure staff understand how AI can be used appropriately, which tools are permitted, and any limitations on their use.  Compliance with GDPR is especially critical when AI is used to process company, client, or customer data.

• Job losses

We have seen a lot of media coverage around the loss of jobs as AI becomes more sophisticated. It may be that some jobs, certainly some tasks, no longer require human intervention. This can be stressful for staff, especially those seeing parts of their roles being lost to AI, however, the human touch cannot be underestimated and support and reassurance for staff, will become increasingly important. 

Key actions employers should take now

• Start by understanding how AI is already being used in your organisation, both formally and informally.  This includes tools embedded in recruitment platforms, chatbots, or employee-led use of generative AI (such as ChatGPT or other tools).  Identifying this usage is the first step to managing risk.
• Develop a written AI policy setting out which tools are approved for use, restrictions on how AI may be used, data protection and confidentiality expectations and responsibility for reviewing AI generated outputs.
• Provide tailored training for managers and staff, so that they understand the capabilities and limitations of AI and the risks of misuse (bias, inaccuracy, GDPR breaches).
• Ensure that there is a human checkpoint in all key decisions made by or supported by AI, particularly when it’s being used for recruitment, or in disciplinary processes.
• If AI is being used to process personal data, ensure that you have appropriate GDPR safeguards in place.

Whilst AI has its advantages, a dependence on technology and AI is likely to pose problems. Whilst systems improve and advantages may begin to outweigh the disadvantages, we must keep in mind the need for human intervention and the evaluation of AI outputs, to ensure our workplace, and processes, run smoothly and without bias or discrimination.

Contact us

If you’d like to discuss AI in your workplace, or in implementing policies and procedures to use AI effectively, then contact a member of our Employment Law team.