For HR departments, AI can reduce – or remove – repetitive, time-intensive manual tasks. AI, and the data it captures and interprets, can help shift HR from an afterthought to a partner in its organization’s growth. It moves decision making from an intuitive, gut-level process to one using predictive analytics based on vast troves of data. Machines can become the biggest advocate for an organization’s human capital, or at least the best option for making decisions that affect human capital.

There are concerns, of course, and invoking the precautionary principle is justified. All that buzzes is not necessarily best. For instance, the threat of machines passing judgement on humans, violating privacy or eliminating jobs is not an attractive proposition to most people. Depending on the poll you choose, however, you’ll find that varied percentages of a majority in Generations X, Y and Z are comfortable with the AI in their lives. The shift has begun.

As artificial intelligence continues to be adopted in commercial environments, expectations of the intelligent systems we interact with daily will change. Or, evolve. The HR community is no different. In this report, we look at where AI is making an impact now and what to expect in the near future.