Prof. Nathaniel Fast

The use of artificial intelligence to track employee behavior and direct human resource decisions is spreading rapidly, but little is known about how employees will respond to these new practices. Workers have historically been averse to tracking and monitoring, suggesting that they may reject AI-based technologies that perform these functions. On the other hand, people frequently complain about bias in HR decisions about hiring, pay, and promotions, suggesting that replacing biased human decision-making with AI may be a welcomed change. The present talk examines these two practices – behavior tracking and decision-making – separately, showing that a different psychology emerges for each. In particular, employees are more likely to welcome behavior tracking when there is no human involvement, because it eliminates concern about negative judgment. However, in direct contrast, employees view HR-algorithms as unfair, based on the perception that AI cannot consider context and engage in holistic reasoning. The talk will examine the implications of these two distinct tendencies and conclude with a discussion of how to effectively and fairly introduce AI-based practices into the workplace.