Laura Timms, Product Strategy Manager at MHR Analytics gives us a breakdown of the future effects of artificial intelligence on the human resources space. According to a recent survey, 82% of HR leaders believe their roles will be completely different in a decade's time. Big things are happening, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) taking a starring role. More than a third of the 500 companies we recently polled said they had adopted some form of AI in the past year, and almost half of the HR leaders we surveyed said that machine learning – a form of AI – will improve their HR function. AI is already being put to work in key areas such as recruitment, onboarding and employee development.

According to a recent survey, 82 per cent of HR leaders believe their roles will be completely different in a decade's time. Big things are happening, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) taking a starring role. More than a third of the 500 companies we recently polled said they had adopted some form of AI in the past year, and almost half of the HR leaders we surveyed said that machine learning – a form of AI – will improve their HR function. AI is already being put to work in key areas such as recruitment, onboarding and employee development. For talent teams, these technologies are helping to free up resources, make better decisions, and crucially, deliver the type of experience that encourages top talent to stick around.

The potential of artificial intelligence to transform the workplace is no longer the stuff of science fiction. It's a today reality that companies--and especially their executive teams and Human Resources (HR) leaders--are meeting head-on. Gone are the days of installing technology systems that served as fixed tools over a fixed lifecycle.iStock Dynamic technology innovations including machine learning and artificial intelligence are already changing the way companies operate, and redefining the very concept of work in the process. And while major technology breakthroughs that fundamentally reshape the workplace have a history of driving net job gains and improved employee satisfaction over the long term, the path is often complicated by short-term concerns or wake-me-when-it's-over inertia.

From asking Alexa for an update on the weather to choosing a playlist for your morning run based on Spotify's latest recommendations, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fast becoming a vital component in our day-to-day lives. As AI continues to transform our personal lives, we can expect to see an increase in the adoption and integration of this emerging technology into the office – with talent acquisition professionals at the forefront of this change. So much so, our latest global survey on the future of recruiting found that many companies have already welcomed AI and big data into their hiring processes. The majority (63 per cent) of talent acquisition professional stated AI has changed the way recruiting is done in their organisation. Providing higher-value services to hiring managers, creating a better candidate experience, as well as helping organisations build a best-in-class workforce, AI has presented recruitment professionals with a unique opportunity.

Recruiting has become the digital equivalent of looking for an elusive needle in a very, very large haystack. Artificial intelligence (AI) is fast becoming an invaluable tool for recruiters and hiring managers in sifting through that haystack, scouring applicant pools and matching the right talent to the right jobs. Consider the Palo Alto–based startup Connectifier, which is used by companies like PayPal and Netflix. It aggregates publicly available information about potential job candidates--think professional networking profiles and social media interactions--and gathers the data in its own search index. The company's AI algorithm then creates personal profiles of candidates and extracts insights about whether they would be a good match for a job, even if they're not actively searching for a new one.