Although they may not yet be anticipating it, candidates can now participate in an initial screening from their own homes by an AI-based video interview bot using their computer or mobile phone screen. Applicants' responses are analyzed by an AI system using machine learning algorithms and natural language processing to consider their answers, word choices, body language, and tone of voice. The video interview analytics can be used by the AI to select the candidates whose skills and abilities are well-aligned with the positions they have applied for by matching their profiles with those of successful employees. The AI can then invite successful candidates to in-person interviews.

The Human Resources (HR) function has seldom been known for its rapid adoption of new technology. Things are changing in this regard, however. HR now has lots of data about employees from internal HR information systems, and there are increasing volumes of data about potential job candidates from external sources like LinkedIn. This data availability, and the general trend toward data- and analytics-based decisions in organizations, set the tone for HR use of advanced analytics and AI. Some HR organizations embraced analytics almost a decade ago; I and a couple of co-authors found enough examples to write about them as early as 2010. The obvious next step for HR is to adopt artificial intelligence, and that is definitely happening.

It's a somewhat ironic tail: in the midst of digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI) is in position to take over many functions of people services--the business of human resources. After all, many companies have been automating their job application processes for quite a while. But as the sophistication of AI continues to ramp up, AI will be playing an even more significant role in recruitment and talent acquisition. This is the future of AI and HR. If you're anything like most people, you have your doubts at how well a machine could select a human for a certain position.

Automation and personalization, although very different in meaning, are very closely connected and go hand in hand with each other. A good question to ask ourselves in this context is – what happens if one interferes with the other? When we talk about the development of businesses, personalization, automation, tools and devices that will take the way we do business to a whole new level, we realize that there is a need to automate personalization more, while customizing automation. This is where automation vs. personalization issue arises. In the context of Artificial Intelligence and Human Resources, automation and personalization are intertwined as well as these two areas.

In 1966, Gene Roddenberry imagined what things would look like in the twenty-third century. These science fiction writers are often cited as the people who shape the future; it is their imagination that drives geeks like me to code, improve and build. Robot vacuum cleaners (Hanna-Barbera, 1962), submarines (Jules Verne, 1870) and the humble automatic door (HG Wells, 1899) were all first seen in books and on television long before they ever entered our lives. Although we are not whizzing through the stars yet, one of the subtler technologies from Roddenberry's Star Trek is tantalisingly close to ubiquitous use. How many times have you seen a character in Star Trek using a mouse and keyboard?

Simply hit the Internet for business domain and within a few minutes, you are sure to find yourself submerged in a pool of articles and blogs talking about how AI (Artificial Intelligence) is set to reshape the business world. Yes, AI has been grabbing a lot of attention these days. In fact, a lot of HR centric write-ups and blogs talk about Artificial Intelligence and people management. AI that we all know is a technology capable to perform a plethora of intellectual tasks that humans can perform. Though the optimal application of this technology is light years away, there have been some extraordinary advancements in recent AI research and developments.