IBM’s Workforce Transformation through AI

The sensation and buzz AI has been creating across industries is slowly turning into nightmares for many. The fear of AI replacing humans in the workplace is real. Companies are moving away from the traditional patterns and restructuring their hiring process, opening doors for their newfound employees—AI bots. This seismic shift in the hiring process marks a significant step in how AIs might take over shortly. These AI bots are capable of carrying out day-to-day communications, gathering data, drafting emails, doing research, and more.

According to the reports, the tech giant IBM has replaced around 200 HR job roles with AI agents. The CEO of IBM, Aravind Krishna, also emphasized that the savings and efficiencies generated from this were in turn used to hire new talent, specifically in areas that require more human touch, such as programming, sales, and marketing. This new trend of automation signals an emerging threat for the HR field as a whole. The jobs ideally carried out by HR, like screening CVs, payrolls, communications, etc., are being automated. The aftereffects of this deployment not only affect IBM but also extend to other companies and enterprises as well.

Despite the positives, it is also important to remain cautious. Though deploying AI agents to replace human beings offers a lot of internal gains for the company and opens up new possibilities, they have lasting consequences. As more companies begin to adopt and invest in AI, we will see a significant reduction in headcounts. Without adapting, businesses can no longer thrive in this quickly evolving digital world.

Now, does this mean the end of HR? Not necessarily. AI will reduce the amount of specialization in HR, resulting in more HR practitioners becoming high-level generalists. HRs will continue to play a critical role in every company as a strategic business partner.