I used to think AI would make HR obsolete. Now I think it may make HR more essential.
Viral post argues AI automates HR's administrative core, forcing the function to tackle deeper human challenges.
A viral post is challenging the narrative that AI will render Human Resources obsolete, arguing instead that it will force a critical evolution of the function. The author, who once believed AI should eliminate most of HR, now posits that automation will target the administrative, process-heavy core of the job—tasks like resume screening, scheduling, documentation, and basic policy support. This automation doesn't reduce the need for human-centric work; it intensifies it by removing the transactional tasks that have historically consumed HR's bandwidth.
With AI handling operational workflows, organizations will confront deeper, more complex human questions that technology cannot solve. These include building trust and belonging in increasingly abstract and AI-mediated work environments, preserving fairness when efficiency is the default design principle, and evaluating employee contributions that are co-produced with AI agents. The post frames this not as the end of HR, but as a demand for a more strategic, psychologically literate, and organizationally rigorous version of the function. AI, therefore, becomes a forcing mechanism for HR to shed its bureaucratic image and directly address the human consequences of rapid technological change.
- AI targets HR's administrative core (screening, scheduling, policy retrieval) for automation, not the human function itself.
- The shift raises complex human questions: building trust in abstract work, evaluating AI-co-produced output, and managing morale during rapid change.
- The author argues AI removes excuses for transactional HR, forcing it to become more strategic and psychologically literate.
Why It Matters
For professionals, this signals a major shift in workplace dynamics and a new strategic role for people operations in the AI era.