Hiring, firing… When artificial intelligence takes over human resources management

“ RandomlyThis is the standard used for the 60 employees of the consulting firm Accenture who discovered on August 17 that they had been made redundant due to artificial intelligence (AI). The story reported by The Daily Mail said the company provides services to Meta Group in brokerage and commercial terms. The mentioned employees, whom the company fired with artificial intelligence, worked with Facebook. It was during a video conference hosted by the company that they learned not only of their sudden layoffs, but also that they had been arbitrarily assigned using an algorithm without further details.

These rapid layoffs are the latest in a wave of restructuring affecting the tech industry. And using artificial intelligence to cut costs is not unique to Accenture and Meta. On the contrary, several similar cases have already occurred in other large groups. As Amazon, which had already caused controversy by using artificial intelligence to recruit and fire its delivery workers, Bloomberg newspaper revealed in 2021. Most recently, it was the Russian company Xsolla that used an algorithm to lay off 150 of its employees during a restructuring. which took place at the end of last year.

AI’s new ‘cost killers’ for companies

However, the proliferation of these new hiring and firing methods underscores the evolution of human resource practices. This has its source in the activity of Gafam. This is what I call techno-Darwinism. only the best and those who are committed to the project are kept in these large groups.Asma Asma Mhalla, Digital Economy and Gafam Expert. He cites Mark Zuckerberg’s speech on June 30 as an example, where the CEO announced that he wanted to increase the pressure on some employees. having no place In Meta, when a group posts disappointing results. “ The technology industry is a time-pressed market. You always have to be the fastest Asma Mhalla responds, elaborating. Gafam executives often find that automating as many functions as possible, including firing and recruiting, allows them to be the sharpest on HR costs compared to their competitors.“.

For the researcher, it is simply a matter of evolution in the distribution of certain tasks that were once considered “added valueand therefore reserved for humans. But those functions have always existed, he recalls. In the United States, these people were called cost killers or cost killers in French. Big companies have called on them to create redundancy plans, which is what AIs are finally doing today for Gafam.“. On the other hand, according to the researcher, the main ethical issues arise when designing the algorithm. Basically, artificial intelligence is designed by humans. However, the designer must have opinions that affect the arbitrary orders generated in the algorithm and which will be applied to the latter.», Details Asma Mhalla. In fact, in 2018, an AI designed and used by Amazon to recruit new employees was found to be sexist in the selection of CVs.

Fragile protective locks in France

However, what is now mostly tested and used at Gafam tends to be established in the operation of smaller structures. “ I have a former student, now a recruiter, who helps virtual assistants for example” Says Caroline Diard, teacher-researcher in personnel management and law at ESC Amiens. “ AI is a catch-all term when expert systems are actually used sort resumes has become quite common among companiesadds Asma Mhalla. The expert also believes that this use can make it possible to re-evaluate the work of personnel.it frees them from all the dreaded tasks to focus on high value-added tasks. HR will then take care of recruiting the best candidates from an already pre-selected panel“, he analyzes.

Especially since there are locks in France before a virtual avatar can take full responsibility for an economic excess like the one that happened on August 17 through Accenture. “ There is a procedure that requires an interview before being fired. This must be arranged in the presence of a natural person representing the employer ”, explains Caroline Diard, referring to Article L1232-2 of the Labor Code. “In addition, during his interview, the employee may be accompanied by a person belonging to the company’s staff (Article L1232-4). “, he adds. The Labor Code also provides for consultation of staff representatives in case of layoffs (L1233-8, etc.). Rounds of discussions and negotiations, which are currently difficult for artificial intelligence to implement, but not.impossible” in the future: “ If tomorrow artificial intelligence is endowed with legal personality, then it can replace the employer in many problems, but at the moment our labor code is still a shield:concludes Caroline Diard.