As is common with big technological shifts in this business, there has been a lot of hand-wringing about the extent to which artificial intelligence will impact recruitment. I feel confident that AI won’t replace recruiters anytime soon. Here are 5 things that AI cannot do:
Creative Thinking
AI runs on data. Data is 100% *not* creative any way, shape or form. If you’ve ever had to coach a client or a candidate (or both!) through a nuanced situation, or a tough negotation, you probably had to be creative. AI cannot take on that task.
Emotional Intelligence
Data and logic are pretty much polar opposites of emotion. AI cannot read human emotions (except to the which it receives data/instruction about emotions), understand other’s emotions, manage emotions, or connect with people with empathy. Ever had to convince a trailing spouse to uproot a family? Move to another state? Disrupt a school year? Talk a candidate through a bout of nerves or an unexpected counteroffer? AI cannot do that now, and I suspect never will. For all the times when emotional intelligence is required during the hiring process, AI won’t replace recruiters for that skill.
Moral Judgments
AI can offer lots of answers but it cannot discern whether those answers are right or wrong, moral or immoral, or consider the impacts on other people. It can’t help a client understand a hiring law or how to handle a great candidate who might have some undesirable history.
Contextual Understanding
Without context, nothing makes sense. How words and people interact in one particular set of circumstances could be radically different in a different set. People and situations are complex and nuanced. AI doesn’t understand shades of gray, and let’s face it–things are much more often gray than black or white.
Self-Awareness
AI doesn’t have a self or an ego. It can’t think about how its words or actions impact others. It can’t understand what it’s good at (or not good at). It can only complete tasks that are based on predetermined rules that are restricted by how/what it gets taught. So the things that help you understand when to push a client, or pull a candidate, or know when it’s time to walk away are all uniquely human traits that a machine cannot imitate let alone replace.
AI is great at automating repetitive tasks. Savvy recruiters will employ AI tools to take on low-value tasks that leave them more time for creative, human-centered activities. These recruiters will likely be more successful than recruiters who don’t learn how to adopt AI tools effectively. AI won’t replace recruiters, but AI-savvy recruiters might put some of their competition out of business.