Ethical considerations of generative AI-enabled human resource management

Abstract

This paper examines critical ethical considerations linked to making human resources management (HRM) decisions based on the potential capabilities (affordances) offered by generative artificial intelligence (GAI). We first provide a broad overview of the status quo surrounding the use of GAI in the HRM context. Then, we introduce the concept of “affordance” and explain how it provides a useful perspective for human resource (HR) managers to use when evaluating potential benefits and/or harm resulting from the implementation of a potential GAI-based capability to support HRM processes decisions. We discuss concrete examples of how GAI HRM affordances could be implemented in different HRM functions and the ethical questions that arise from their use. Finally, we present an ethics-based framework, the Two-Rule Method, along with ethics-specific recommendations to guide HR managers through the complex issues that arise because of the use of GAI-enabled HR tools.