Dive Brief:
- Companies like Deloitte offer plenty of 'grunt work', such as scanning and filing contracts, which helps new hires and apprentices become acclimated to processes and learn the value of hard work, Quartz reports. However, artificial intelligence tools could effectively eliminate many of these repetitive processes. Deloitte now has AI that scans contracts.
- Cathy Engelbert, CEO of Deloitte, points out that new hires are quickly being phased out by AI, and she worries that mid-level employees may not benefit from the experience and judgment afforded by manual processes.
- AI streamlines a lot of repetitive work, but such work may be instructive in nature for employees. While they can use their skills in other ways, employees are missing out on some lessons that no other training can mimic.
Dive Insight:
It can be easy to think that new technology like AI will make life easier for many employees. However, on the flip side, there are some potential negatives to consider. First, as the above article points out, it can all but eliminate the valuable real life learning experiences of employees who are just starting out. Such tasks, like filing or reviewing documents, were often used as a way to slowly orient new hires to the company.
Secondly, AI can replace the need for entry level employees, including some who come in as apprentices or summer interns. How much of this can impact later career success is unknown, but it is certainly representative of the myriad of challenges facing HR at this moment of transition.
