HR technology and artificial intelligence (AI): shifting mindsets from replacement to augmentation

You may have seen the controversial marketing campaign in London over the summer in which an artificial intelligence (AI) provider directly played into the fears that it was going to replace people’s jobs.

The provider plastered ads across London, using slogans such as: AI doesn’t need to take a holiday or sick days on a Monday.

This direct reference to the fear around AI taking jobs was immediately met with backlash.

It really touched a nerve because this fear around replacement is very real for many workers.

AI, like with a lot of modern technology, can have amazing benefits, but only if people trust it and willingly adopt it.

So, what can be done to shift the narrative? How can businesses empower workers to capitalise on this new technology?

To better understand ethical AI leadership and technology change management, we hosted a webinar with HR Director Lizzy Barry, Director of HR Consulting Dan Grace and Senior L&D Advisor Vanessa Aradia.

In this blog, I’ve summarised some of their conversation around how businesses can shift mindsets away from fear.

Understanding human emotion

To kickstart the discussion, Vanessa touched on the emotional element of change, reflecting on past technological innovation and the current AI landscape, saying:

“If we strip away the buzzwords and headlines, what we’re really talking about is human emotion.

“How do people feel about AI?

“For most, it’s a mix of fascination, fatigue and fear, and that’s entirely reasonable.

“Every major leap in technology has stirred the same response, which is uncertainty about what it means for our jobs, our identity and our value. 

“I carried out a poll, and when you listen to real employee concerns, they’re rarely about technology itself, but rather trust, transparency and fairness. 

“Will I be left behind? Businesses need to address these concerns directly.

“I advise you to be honest about AI’s limitations, offer visibility on how AI decisions are made and create opportunities for hands-on experimentation. 

“That’s how fear gives way to capability. 

“We’re not just upskilling our teams technically, we’re building their human skills.

“If we help our people feel safe, curious and confident, every technical challenge becomes manageable.

“As we know, this human story of adaptation is far from new – it’s been unfolding since the days when horsepower meant horses.” 

Showcasing the practicality

Lizzy added to Vanessa’s point, sharing how she’s helped manage AI adoption at IRIS, explaining: “It’s actually been really interesting within IRIS! We’ve done things like AI hackathons and given employees a chance to play around with tools they might not have used before.

“We often set a challenge: can you use AI to generate this? How would you look at that output and work out if something is true?

“Being able to start using AI and see what it can do is often a really clear way to take away some of that fear, because we can see immediately that AI isn’t perfect and it doesn’t always give us the finely crafted end result that we need.

“Even if the output looks good, we know that AI can hallucinate or have built-in mistakes and assumptions that we then need to check.

“Certainly, getting stuck in is really helpful for supporting people and helping make them feel confident in using it for that augmentation, rather than worrying it’s going to replace us tomorrow.”

Obtaining buy-in from leadership  

During the webinar, Dan shared his experience implementing AI tools both internally at IRIS and with customers: “I’ll really play on the word augmentation, as it’s really important.

“I help deploy AI tools internally here at IRIS, but also help support customers in determining what’s the right move for them.

“One of the questions we always get: is this replacing me?

“Some of the messaging we always share with the people we’re embedding this change with is that this tool is here to augment and help deliver a better service.

“It’s not a replacement, rather we simply want to offer a better service for customers and colleagues – the goal is to try improve and be better where we can.

“Ultimately, change does come with shifting roles and priorities – there’s no escaping that.

“But it’s all about doing the right thing for our clients, employees and colleagues, deploying the best tools and staying ahead.

“I’ve found, when it comes to implementation, if it’s going to fail, it’s not due to the people using the tools.

“It’s typically due to hesitation in the delivery of the tools and leadership not buying in and deploying them effectively.

“Most people, just about everyone I know, have experienced AI tools, either in their personal or work life.

“If you look at some of the statistics, ChatGPT was one of the fastest-growing apps.

“People are using these tools in their everyday lives and, in fact, you can’t even use Google now without it giving you some kind of AI search options.

“AI is everywhere, so if your leadership and strategy aren’t backing these tools, it’s going to really fall down at that first hurdle.

“You really need to convince leadership that moving into these tools to help your workforce is the right move to help support the business, customers and employees.

“However, we shouldn’t be deploying these tools just to use them – they need considerate thought, making sure they’re the right move.”

Giving people the tools needed to succeed

The world doesn’t pause while we catch our breath.

Change is inevitable, but it’s the duty of HR to take their workforce along on the journey, empowering them with the tools needed to thrive.

If you want more guidance, good news! Our no-nonsense, practical session is now available to watch on demand.

In this webinar, you’ll learn how to:

• Transform employee fear into technology adoption with ethical leadership
• Build an AI-ready organisation that amplifies human potential
• Create practical governance frameworks for data privacy, security and company policies
• Develop employee training and AI literacy programs
• Shift your HR function from reactive to strategic

This session will give you the framework and tools to lead confidently through AI transformation, without losing the human touch that makes your organisation special.