Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Human Resource Management

Abstract

The rapid progression of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has transformed the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) from management and governance to a valued partnership. This thesis explores how AI has been implemented within the branches of Recruitment, Training and Development, Performance Appraisal, Operation Efficiency, and AI Governance. The purposed aims were to determine the role of AI-enabled tools in the efficient operations of organizations and how to minimize the risks AI has on bias and the health of workers. A qualitative literature review methodology was applied with the use of a qualitative literature review methodology. One hundred peer-reviewed, academic articles in English were searched from 2020 to 2025, downloaded using Zotero, and imported into NVivo for analysis. Branch maps were created to track two major themes with 50 sub-branches of data identified. The research questions aimed to explore the strategic value of implementing AI-enabled tools in Human Resource Management, the operational inefficiencies, the challenges in implementation, and ethical considerations in employing AI. The findings revealed that AI streamlines organizational efficiency in high-volume functions such as recruitment and payroll, where the administrative "time to resolution" was shrunk by as much as 70% through adoption. In Training and Development, AI-enabled coaching was democratized, rapidly identifying skill gaps with increases in precision. In Performance Appraisal, a "Surveillance Gap" was identified between worker health and job autonomy as AI is used for real-time monitoring of work-related performance and outputs, which was coined as "Digital Taylorism." The study concludes that the "Success" of AI in HRM is not defined by technical competence but by the "Human-in-the-loop" model. To ensure organizational efficiency, it is recommended that organizations focus on "Explainable AI" (XAI) to ensure organizational trust. The implications of this study for HRM are that HR managers need to transform themselves from "Strategic Data Analysts" to manage the ethics of technology. This study provides a solid framework for organizations to effectively manage the digital transformation of their workforce and human-centric values.