ChatGPT Requires Even Stronger HR Professionals

As the subject of Artificial Intelligence (AI) gains more momentum, the chatter (excuse the pun!) about ChatGPT has become extremely loud. The usefulness and limitations of Large Language Models (LLM) that use massive amounts of text data to capture the nuances and intricacies of language and generate human-like responses, are being vigorously debated. 

Numerous entrepreneurs and well known business leaders are having their say on the possibilities and risks with using such technology, and the question of whether it is a positive or negative advancement for society remains unanswered. 

Where Is The Human Touch Needed?

This ChatGPT AI model has been trained on a massive dataset of human language, making it incredibly sophisticated and capable of generating human-like responses to a wide variety of questions and requests. When working within a field that involves a lot of repetitive tasks, ChatGPT has the potential to automate many of these processes, freeing up time to focus on more strategic and creative tasks. 

For HR professionals, the most relevant questions are: where and how ChatGPT can be used to support your employees in their jobs, what processes can be automated, and as a result what needs to be changed in your current approaches? For instance, specifically within the field of HR, ChatGPT could be used to automate tasks such as scheduling interviews or answering common HR questions. This would free up HR professionals to focus on more strategic initiatives, such as talent management and employee engagement.

At Spotify we believe that this technology also needs an additional human touch. For example, I asked ChatGTP to write this blog post and the result was a first draft within 15 minutes – that’s so much faster than if I would have written the initial draft from scratch. However, although writing blog posts is heavily dependent on communication and language (ChatGPT’s area of expertise) and ChatGPT was capable of reflecting our basic tone of voice, crafting a good blog post that correctly expresses our opinion requires more of a creative skillset. Specific knowledge of Spotify’s company culture and our thinking around the use of technology in the future of work is essential for a complete, quality piece. That’s why for many tasks, a human touch is needed in addition.

We can say with authority that ChatGPT will definitely lead to a search for different skills in the workforce. As more and more tasks are automated, we’ll need people with expertise in areas like data analysis, critical thinking, and creativity, so that they can be complementary to automated tasks, connect the dots, add quality, and ensure the nuances that are related to a company’s culture are not missed.

Changing Current Processes

As well as thinking ahead on the skills demanded in your organisation, it’s smart to evaluate what effect it has on your business today. LLM technologies can pass an MBA test, US Medical Licensing Exam and The Bar – this level of ‘intelligence’ will surely have an effect on your search for and test candidates. For example, our programming tests are no longer relevant as candidates can use ChatGPT to solve them. Within HR we need to think about what is already possible and being used. Will it result in the automated generation of resumes? Portfolios? Or other submissions commonly associated with job applications? If this is the case, it’s also indicative that the jobs themselves will change a lot, meaning you have to rethink what skills you actually need in the future.

Responsible And Ethical Uses

Although ChatGPT can be useful for a lot of tasks, this kind of automation is not without its challenges. As we embrace this new technology, it’s important to think about how we can ensure that it’s being used in a responsible and ethical way, and that we’re not sacrificing human jobs and expertise in the process. At Spotify, we believe that this kind of technology should be used to augment and support human work, not replace it. 

In addition, there needs to be clarity on who owns the content or output. For example, does the text in this post belong to ChatGPT, or to me? A blog post piece like this is may not be that serious, but what about if the output from ChatGPT is code for a software, song lyrics, a book or something similar? By establishing the ownership, you can identify risks that you may expose your company to through copyright issues.

An Organisation Of Experimentation

ChatGPT will also change the way we think about work itself. As more tasks are automated, there’s an increased emphasis on creativity, associative and critical thinking. Therefore, another important consideration is how to build an organisation of experimentation that enables your people to use new technology to stay ahead of competition. As an HR professional you should be identifying what roles or tasks can be automated, whilst simultaneously reinforcing a culture that supports constant change. Only then can you design your future organisation. 

The culture at Spotify, based on our values, and with the setting that change is constant and growth our mantra, is an ideal environment to encourage embracing new technologies like ChatGPT. We will always consider technologies that can augment and support human work, rather than replace it. And we will not reinvent the wheel for the sake of it. Our focus on the human aspect of work and technology, combined with a commitment to responsible and ethical use, will likely make the transition to a more AI-powered future of work smoother and more manageable.

There’s no denying that as we move further into the future of work, it’s becoming increasingly clear that AI-powered technologies like ChatGPT will play a significant role in shaping how we do our jobs. There will be a growing demand for people who can build, manage, and maintain these technologies, as well as people who can help us understand the ethical and social implications of their use. It will shift roles as we currently know them and requires you to design a different organisation with different skills than those you have today.

At Spotify, we’re always looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to emerging technologies, and we believe that ChatGPT has the potential to change the way we work in profound and exciting ways. In the past, we’ve said that Working From Anywhere (WFA) is the biggest change in how we work since the industrial revolution. Now, we wonder if ChatGPT and similar tools are an even greater change.

So Why The Need For Even Stronger HR Professionals?

WFA and ChatGPT will help automise many things for us, however, there’s a clear risk that people will get more distanced as these new ways of working evolve. People will see their colleagues less, and they will have bots summarising meetings and communications which limits human interaction further. In the future empathy and connection will be even more important for building a healthy and competitive company, which we know is at the core of our work as HR professionals. The world’s greatest job just got even more exciting!