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There’s no doubt that HR professionals are doing their part to help workers embrace AI. But they also have their fair share of concerns about the technology—many of which are the same as the workforce they oversee.
Around 82% of HR professionals use AI in their daily work, according to a study of industry professionals from General Assembly, an upskilling and training platform. They’re using it for all kinds of things, including analyzing employee feedback (46%), writing job descriptions (46%), and creating training materials (45%). All of this has resulted in some serious productivity: 69% say it has freed up time for more strategic work, and 41% say they’re putting in fewer hours due to AI adoption.
But these HR practitioners also have their fair share of anxieties when it comes to the new technology. While 93% say the tech benefits employees, around 49% say they’re worried it could make personnel decisions more unfair. Around 20% say AI has created more work for them, getting in the way of other work priorities. The cohort is also worried that AI could make it harder for entry-level workers to learn how to do their jobs (30%), eventually replace them (29%), replace their colleagues (17%), make their job harder (13%), or make their job less enjoyable (11%).
There’s no doubt about it, HR folks are leaning into AI and seeing the benefits. But they also share many of the same concerns that rank and file workers have about pushing out the next generation of workers and being replaced by robots.
So while CHROs rush to embrace AI, they should be mindful about the potential pitfalls—it turns out the fears of the workforce overall are also hitting much closer to home.
Brit Morse
brit.morse@fortune.com
Around the Table
A round-up of the most important HR headlines.
The economy’s resilience so far to President Trump’s global trade war has been strong, but it may not last through the most recent round of tariffs. New York Times
Starbucks is increasing its in-office work policy for corporate employees from three days to four, with some may needing to relocate due to the change. Wall Street Journal
Recent college graduates are facing one of the worst hiring environments in years, as many are finding the entry-level job search relentless. NPR
Watercooler
Everything you need to know from Fortune.
Delayed strain. So far tariffs have yet to fuel a surge in inflation, but their effects are expected to show up more later this year as earnings statements are released. —Jason Ma
The new AI assistant. Goldman Sachs just hired Devin, an AI-powered software engineer that’s capable of coding just as well as humans. —Preston Fore
Job stress. About 58% of recent graduates are still looking for full-time work, compared to 25% of earlier graduates from other generations. —Emma Burleigh
