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Does HR still need humans?

Artificial intelligence can perform many of the duties of human resources staff, a symbol of how it is changing companies and the nature of work.

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Andrew Hill

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At the height of the pandemic, RingCentral, a communications software company, hired 4,000 people to deal with a surge of clients as remote working took hold. But over the past two years, the company has cut its pandemic-era human resources (HR) team of 300 by nearly half. Head of HR, Mr Alvin Lam, has told his superiors that he cannot lose more people. But, if it came to it, he says he probably could cut back again.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as the company’s HR chatbot Ringo would probably allow him to “figure out a way to continue to produce the same level of service (for) all our stakeholders and still be able to deliver”.

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