Is AI making humans less relevant in HR?
The true risk is that that leaders, chasing efficiency alone, will hollow out the human core of the profession
IN A world where chatbots are increasingly adopted to solve employee queries, where algorithms scan thousands of CVs in seconds, and generative artificial intelligence (AI) drafts policies at the click of a button, it is tempting to think human resource (HR) professionals are headed for redundancy. After all, if machines can handle recruitment, process leave requests, and even conduct initial interviews, what is left for humans?
This view, however, is profoundly shortsighted. It mistakes efficiency for strategy, assumes automation inevitably leads to job loss, and overlooks history’s consistent lesson: new technologies rarely erase human work. Instead, they transform and expand it.
Beyond automation: HR’s true value
Reducing HR to routine tasks like payroll, leave processing, or query handling misses its essence entirely. While AI will indeed take over much of this administrative work, the heart of HR lies in building trust, shaping culture, and navigating the complex dynamics between employer and employee. No algorithm can comfort an employee facing harassment, mediate workplace conflicts, or weigh the ethical dimensions of a redundancy decision. These remain profoundly human responsibilities.
This is why job redesign matters so much. At the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) Job Redesign Centre of Excellence, our Revamp framework helps organisations rethink roles – not to remove humans, but to elevate them.
Right here in Singapore, we have seen remarkable transformations: Aviation ground staff have moved from repetitive gate duties to passenger experience roles supported by AI rostering, while logistics employees have shifted from manual paperwork to exception management and customer engagement, aided by digital platforms. In these cases, technology amplifies rather than replaces the human contribution.
Why the “fewer humans” myth persists
The fear that AI will shrink HR rests on two flawed assumptions.
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First, tasks are not jobs – automating interview scheduling or leave requests simply frees HR to focus on higher-order responsibilities requiring empathy and judgment.
Second, history consistently shows that disruption expands rather than diminishes work. Factory mechanisation created demand for supervisors and personnel managers. Automated teller machines were supposed to replace bank tellers but instead enabled banks to redeploy them into advisory roles, even as branch numbers grew.
Enterprise resource planning systems and outsourcing birthed HR business partners (HRBPs) and centres of expertise. Cloud platforms and the gig economy expanded workforce participation while spawning new HR disciplines such as people analytics, diversity, and employee experience. Each technological leap made HR more strategic, not less.
If anything, humans become more critical with AI, not less. If AI is the engine, humans are the drivers and navigators. This is especially true in HR, where judgment in ambiguous situations requires cultural nuance and empathy that AI cannot provide. From August 2025, the EU AI Act classifies HR-related AI systems as “high-risk,” making HR professionals central to ensuring these tools are used fairly, transparently, and accountably.
Beyond compliance, AI adoption requires organisational change – job redesign, retraining, and engagement that only humans can lead. In talent-scarce economies like Singapore, the real competition is not for technology but for people, making HR’s role in upskilling, mobility, and employer branding more vital than ever.
Designing an integrated future
The future of HR is not about choosing between humans or AI – it is about designing systems where both complement each other. This requires five guiding principles:
- Fix broken processes before digitising them. Automating chaos only accelerates chaos.
- Ensure humans remain firmly in the loop. AI can support triage, but humans must make final calls on grievances, redeployment, or terminations.
- Retrain HR for higher-order roles. Recruiters can evolve into workforce planners, and HRBPs into organisational designers.
- Measure outcomes beyond cost. Trust, fairness, skill development, and engagement matter as much as efficiency.
- Govern AI with rigour. Establish strong HR-led governance, with audits, ethical review boards, and employee voice mechanisms.
The renaissance ahead
The true risk is not that AI will make HR obsolete – it is that leaders, chasing efficiency alone, will hollow out the human core of HR, undermining trust, culture and legitimacy in the process. History reminds us that when technology is used responsibly, it expands both productivity and participation.
For Singapore, this moment is particularly significant. As a nation, we have always succeeded by anticipating change and acting decisively. Our tripartite model – where government, unions, and employers work together – has been a hallmark of our resilience. AI gives us another opportunity to show the world how trust, collaboration, and innovation can shape a future of work that benefits all.
To HR professionals: Embrace AI boldly but hold fast to the human qualities that make our work indispensable. Lead the redesign of jobs, the reskilling of workers, and the governance of AI with confidence and courage.
To business leaders: Resist viewing HR as merely a cost centre to be automated away. Instead, elevate it as the strategic partner that will enable your organisation to harness AI responsibly, build skills at scale, and sustain workforce trust.
Singapore has set ambitious goals in the national skills agenda, and HR must be at the forefront of turning those aspirations into reality. If we rise to this challenge, AI will not mark the end of HR – it will mark its renaissance. A renaissance where humans and technology work hand in hand to create stronger businesses, better jobs, and more resilient societies.
So does HR still need humans? Absolutely – and more than ever. Because HR is not about processing people; it is about understanding them. And no algorithm, however advanced, can replace that.
The writer is chief executive officer at Institute for Human Resource Professionals
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