The people profession will play a crucial role in ensuring organisations adopt AI ethically and responsibly
In response to UK government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, the CIPD has reiterated the people profession’s crucial role in helping organisations to adopt AI ethically and responsibly.
Plans to boost the AI across the UK’s public services could bring significant productivity gains to the UK economy. By letting AI handle repetitive and administrative tasks, it could free up public sector workers to deliver more human public services and make jobs in the public sector more fulfilling.
But AI is not without risks, and employers must monitor and manage these carefully – with the people profession at the forefront of discussions. A recent CIPD poll reveals that 60% of respondents would trust AI to inform, but not make, important workplace decisions. This insight underscores the need to maintain human oversight when adopting AI, to ensure it’s done ethically and responsibly.
HR teams have an important role to play in creating clear workplace guidance, covering:
“Organisations should foster a culture of cross-team collaboration, helping employees develop their skills or reskill as necessary to ensure no one gets left behind as AI transforms workplaces and careers.”
A new ‘Focus on AI’ resource page on the CIPD website brings together a range of evidence and insights to build HR practitioners’ confidence to make informed decisions and manage the risks and opportunities appropriately.
James Cockett, Senior Labour Market Economist, explores how UK organisations are adopting generative AI, where they are on their AI maturity journey, and how productivity pressures are shaping both uptake and concerns.
Hayfa Mohdzaini, Senior Policy and Practice Advisor for technology, explores why AI governance is a natural extension of HR’s existing responsibilities and how people professionals can help ensure AI is used responsibly across organisations.
