The World Economic Forum published the "Human-Centred AI for Human Resources: A Toolkit for Human Resources Professionals" to scale the responsible use of artificial intelligence in Human Resources (HR). The toolkit includes a guide covering key topics and steps in the responsible use of AI-based HR tools, and two checklists – one focused on strategic planning and the other on the adoption of a specific tool. There are now 250 HR tools that use AI, according to the paper. These tools aim to manage talent in ways that are more effective, fair, and efficient. However, the use of AI in HR raises concerns given AI's potential for problems in areas such as data privacy and bias.

Many governments are increasingly approaching artificial intelligence with an almost religious zeal. By 2018 at least 22 countries around the world, and also the EU, had launched grand national strategies for making AI part of their business development, while many more had announced ethical frameworks for how it should be allowed to develop. The latest is Ireland, which has just announced its national artificial intelligence strategy, "AI – Here for Good". It aims to become "an international leader in using AI to benefit our economy and society, through a people-centred, ethical approach to its development, adoption and use". This is to be obtained via eight policy commandments, including increasing trust in and understanding of AI by using an "AI ambassador" – a veritable AI high priest – to spread the message around the country.

The European Commission recently announced its proposal for the regulation of artificial intelligence, looking to ban "unacceptable" uses of artificial intelligence. Up until now, the challenges for businesses getting AI'wrong' were bad press, reputation damage, loss of trust and market share, and most importantly for sensitive applications, harm to individuals. But with these new rules, two new consequences are arising: plain interdiction of certain AI systems, and GDPR-like fines. While for now this is only proposed for the EU, the definitions and principles set out may have wider-reaching implications, not only on how AI is perceived but also on how businesses should handle and work with AI. The new regulation sets four levels of risk: unacceptable, high, low, minimum, with HR AI systems sitting in the "High Risk" category.

A new report from information technology company Wipro Limited claims that enterprises of the future will be built on a foundation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Analytics, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Automation. According to the'State of Intelligent Enterprises' report, these technologies are central to solving business problems and driving innovation. Most businesses consider AI to be critical to improve operational efficiency, reduce employee time on manual tasks, and enhance the employee and customer experience. The'State of Intelligent Enterprises' report sets out to examine the current landscape and shows the challenges and the driving factors for businesses to become truly Intelligent Enterprises. Wipro surveyed 300 respondents in UK and US across key industry sectors like financial services, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, retail and consumer goods.

A new study claims that the UK is at the forefront of a global drive for Artificial Intelligence investment, with a near universal 99 percent of UK respondents planning to invest in AI, versus 80 percent in North America, and 83 percent in mainland Europe. The report from IFS (registration) sets out to explore the perception and adoption of AI within core industries worldwide. It polled the views of 600 decision makers working with technology and suggests that AI will predominantly be used to make existing workers more productive (60 percent) and add value to products and services (48 percent). Just 18 percent of businesses said they would be utilising AI to replace existing workers, while more than 60 percent stated AI would either increase headcounts or would keep them the same, countering fears it will lead to job losses. Those that did plan to use AI to replace workers overwhelmingly came from large enterprises, which employ greater numbers in the process-driven roles that are most likely to be lost to automation.

Should we be afraid of artificial intelligence? For me, this is a simple question with an even simpler, two letter answer: no. But not everyone agrees – many people, including the late physicist Stephen Hawking, have raised concerns that the rise of powerful AI systems could spell the end for humanity. Clearly, your view on whether AI will take over the world will depend on whether you think it can develop intelligent behaviour surpassing that of humans – something referred to as "super intelligence". So let's take a look at how likely this is, and why there is much concern about the future of AI.

Chatbots and voice assistants powered by artificial intelligence are starting to gain traction in the workplace of large organisations, according to a report from tech firm Spiceworks. The report, based on a survey of 500 IT professionals in organisations across North America and Europe, found that within the next 12 months, 40 percent of large businesses – those with more than 500 employees – expect to implement one or more intelligent assistants or AI chatbots on company-owned devices, compared to 25 percent of mid-size companies and 27 percent of small businesses. The findings indicate that although adoption is on the rise, some organisations are holding back due to a lack of use cases in the workplace and privacy concerns. Across all company sizes, Microsoft Cortana is the most commonly used intelligent assistant in the workplace, likely due to its native integration into Windows 10. Among organisations that have implemented intelligent assistants or chatbots on company-owned devices and services, the results show 49 percent are currently using Microsoft Cortana for work-related tasks, followed closely by Apple Siri at 47 percent.

Much of the current focus of the debate about the impact of artificial intelligence has been on how the'rise of the robots' will spend the end for many job roles. Yet that mischaracterises the true effects according to a new report from Infosys, released today, to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos. The report, Amplifying Human Potential: Towards Purposeful Artificial Intelligence, concludes that the implementation of AI doesn't necessarily mean job losses. In fact, 80 percent of businesses adopting AI which have replaced, or plan to replace, workers with technology, will be far more likely to retain, retrain and upskill those employees impacted. The study also claims that the adoption of AI will mean a number of other important benefits for organisations including a predicted 39 percent revenue rise by 2020 as a result of the implementation.