Advances in technology, shifts in workplace dynamics, and evolving employee expectations are reshaping the HR landscape. At the forefront of this transformation is the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including tools like ChatGPT, into the heart of HR practices. This integration raises questions about the role of organizational psychologists, and how embracing ethical AI to support people processes can foster a more dynamic, inclusive, and effective workplace.
The Urgent Need for Adaptation
Research indicates that up to 35% of job types could be replaced by machines within the next two decades, according to leading researchers from Oxford University and Deloitte. This statistic is not just a forecast, but an urgent call for organizational psychologists to explore new ways of coexisting and collaborating with this technology. It is undeniable that the practice of organizational psychology needs to adapt to this new landscape, and fast. As CHROs feel the pressure to adopt AI, the psychologists who advise them must be equipped with the knowledge and tools to help them make the right decisions about how AI is used in their people processes.
Acceptance and Flexibility: New Candidate & Employee Expectations
Employees and candidates crave flexibility, inclusivity, and personalized experiences. Traditional, top-down HR solutions fail to meet these needs, diminishing the returns that can be seen from continuing to invest in traditional HR tech stacks.
In contrast, AI offers a promising alternative, with generative AI tools like ChatGPT fundamentally changing how many of us work, learn, and stay productive. These tools enable a seismic shift from static, linear processes to conversational interactions that give individuals agency, empowering them and valuing their time.
The Role of Organizational Psychologists in an AI-enabled World
As AI becomes more prevalent in HR, organizational psychologists must augment their expertise with knowledge of the fundamentals of AI; as well as use their scientific knowledge to ensure that the AI that is being used, is responsible, ethical, and fit for purpose.
This involves understanding the science behind AI-powered tools, ensuring ethical application, and focusing on the development of systems that offer genuine value to both employees and organizations. There are three areas of impact in which organizational psychologists should already be playing a core role:
- Advocacy for Ethical AI: Just as org psychs ensure that traditional assessments or programs are responsible and ethical, now they should be championing the development and implementation of AI solutions that respect privacy, ensure fairness, and eliminate bias.
- Facilitating Human-AI Collaboration: The intersection of humans and AI is where the most exciting possibilities lie. AI can be used to enhance decision-making and productivity, without fully displacing the human element. Organizational psychologists must bring their expertise in designing these human-AI processes.
- Enhancing Employee Experience: It’s the goal of all HR departments to create personalized, flexible, and inclusive work environments that attract and retain top talent. AI can be used to help achieve these goals, and organizational psychologists should be up to date in their knowledge of which AI tools can help.
So, how can an organizational psychologist begin to equip themselves with this knowledge?
Understand the fundamentals of AI and how they’re being used in HR
Learn your MLs from your NLPS. This quick reference guide will help organizational psychologists understand a simple framework of AI terminology; and how each component can be used to optimize and enhance your HR processes.
Get acquainted with the concepts of Responsible AI
While the potential of AI is immense, organizational psychologists must also be aware of its limitations and ethical considerations. The reliance on AI must be balanced with human oversight to ensure accuracy, fairness, and the well-being of employees.
Ethical AI, and Responsible AI, they’re terms that are used a lot, however with no prior knowledge it can be difficult to know what makes an AI ‘ethical’ or ‘responsible’.
Responsible AI generally refers to the ethical, safe, trustworthy, and fair development, deployment, and use of AI systems. Ethically, the focus is on transparency, bias mitigation, accountability, privacy, accuracy, human oversight, safety, societal impact, and inclusivity. Legally, aspects such as regular audits, risk management, transparency notices, and thorough documentation stand out.
For organizational psychologists aiming to understand responsible AI use, this paper offers an overview and suggests seven essential questions to evaluate an AI solution.
Start with the business challenges
Many of us have fallen into the trap of building a business case to buy some new tech rather than building business cases around problems to be solved and then finding the right technology partner. When HR leaders start with the business problem, they measure their success in business metrics, not HR metrics.
Successful implementation of AI will start with the business challenges that need to be solved, and building a solution around that. Working with your stakeholders to ensure that any adoption of AI is centered on solving a real challenge will ensure the success of the project.
Consider how AI creates humanized experiences
Fundamentally, any new technology, AI or not, should enhance the experience of the user, whether that’s a candidate, employee, or hiring manager.
The rise of remote work and the demand for greater autonomy have clarified that connection is the new culture, and conversation is the new medium. Smart chat, powered by AI, is fundamentally different from basic chatbots. It learns from every interaction, providing personalized feedback and a human-like experience. This approach enhances engagement and fosters a culture of continuous learning and self-actualization.
Smart chat provides the opportunity for humanized experiences, at scale.
The future is here, it’s time to embrace it
As we stand on the brink of a new era in organizational psychology, it is clear that the future is conversational AI. Sapia.ai’s pioneering approach, which combines ethical AI with a deep understanding of human behavior, exemplifies how we can use technology to enhance our understanding of ourselves and others.
The role of the organizational psychologist is evolving, driven by the rapid advancements in AI and changing workplace dynamics. By embracing these changes, we can redefine what it means to work, lead, and succeed in the digital age. The future of work is here, and it’s conversational, inclusive, and intelligent.
Related
Blog
The AGC Debate: Are AI-Written Interview Answers a Red Flag or Smart Strategy?
Every day, we read stories of increased fake or AI-assisted applications. Tools like LazyApply are just one of many flooding the market, driving up applicant volumes to never-before-seen levels.
As an overwhelmed hiring function, how do you find the needle in the haystack without using an army of recruiters to filter through the maze?
At Sapia.ai, we help global enterprises do just that. Many of the world’s most trusted brands, such as Qantas Group, have relied on our hiring platform as a co-pilot for better hiring since 2020.
Our Chat Interview has given millions of candidates a voice they wouldn’t have had – enabling them to share in their own words why they’re the best fit for the role. To find the people who belong with their brands, our customers must trust that their candidates represent themselves. Thus, they want to trust that our AI is analysing real human answers—not answers from a machine.
The Rise of GPT
When ChatGPT went viral in November 2022, we immediately adopted a defensive strategy. We had long been flagging plagiarised candidate responses, but then, we needed to act fast to flag responses using artificially generated content (‘AGC’).
Many companies were in the same position, but Sapia.ai was the only company with a large proprietary data set of interview answers that pre-dated GPT and similar tools: 2.5 billion words written by real humans.
That data enabled us to build a world-first:- an LLM-based AGC detector for text-based interviews, recently upgraded to v2.0 with 99% accuracy and a false positive rate of 1%. An NLP classification model built on Sapia.ai proprietary data that operates across all Sapia.ai chat interviews.
Full Transparency with Candidates
Because we value candidate trust as much as customer trust, we wanted to be transparent with candidates about our ability to detect artificially generated content (AGC). As an LLM, we could identify AGC in real time and warn candidates that we had detected it.
This has had a powerful impact on candidate behaviour. Since our AGC detector went live, we have seen that the real-time flagging acts as a real-time disincentive to use tools like ChatGPT to generate interview responses.
The detector generates a warning if 3 or more answers are flagged as having artificially generated content. The Sapia.ai Chat Interview uses 5 open-ended interview questions for volume hiring roles, such as retail, contact centre, and customer service, and 6 questions for professional roles, such as engineers, data scientists, graduates, etc.
Let’s Take a Closer Look at the Data…
We see that using our AGC detector LLM to communicate live with candidates in the interview flow when artificial content has been detected has a positive effect on deterring candidates from using AI tools to generate their answers.
The rate of AGC use declines from 1 question flagged to 5 questions – raising the flag on one question is generally enough to deter candidates from trying again.
The graph below shows the number of candidates, from a total of almost 2.7m, that used artificially generated content in their answers.
Differences in AGC Usage Rate by Groups
We see no meaningful differences in candidate behaviour based on the job they are applying for or based on geography.
However, we have found differences by gender and ethnicity – for example, men use artificially generated content more than women. The graph below shows the overall completion ratios by gender – for all interviews on the left and for interviews where the number of questions with AGC detected is 5 or more on the right.
Perception of Artificially Generated Content by Hirers.
We’re curious to understand how hirers perceive the use of these tools to assist candidates in a written interview. The creation of the detector was based on the majority of Sapia.ai customers wanting transparency & explainability around the use of these tools by candidates, often because they want to ensure that candidates are using their own words to complete their interviews and they want to avoid wasting time progressing candidates who are not as capable as their chat interview suggests.
However, some of our customers feel that it’s a positive reflection of the candidate, showing that they are using the tools available to them to put their best foot forward.
It’s a mix of perspectives.
Our detector labels it as the use of artificially generated content. It’s up to our customers how they use that information in their decision-making processes.
This concept of having a human in the loop is one of the key dimensions of ethical AI, and we ensure that it is used in every AI-related hiring product we build.
Interested in the science behind it all? Download our published research on developing the AGC detector 👇
Research Paper Download: AI Generated Content in Online Text-based Structured Interviews
Blog
Joe & the Juice Partners with Sapia.ai, Scaling an Exceptional Candidate Experience and Cutting Time to Hire
Read the full press release about the partnership here.
Joe & the Juice, the trailblazing global juice bar and coffee concept, is renowned for its vibrant culture and commitment to cultivating talent. With humble roots from one store in Copenhagen, now with a presence in 17 markets, Joe & The Juice has built a culture that fosters growth and celebrates individuality.
But, as their footprint expands, so does the challenge of finding and hiring the right talent to embody their unique culture. With over 300,000 applications annually, the traditional hiring process using CVs was falling short – leaving candidates waiting and creating inefficiencies for the recruitment team. To address this, Joe & The Juice turned to Sapia.ai, a pioneer in ethical AI hiring solutions.
A Fresh Approach to Hiring
Through this partnership, Joe & The Juice has transformed its hiring process into an inclusive, efficient, and brand-aligned experience. Instead of faceless CVs, candidates now engage in an innovative chat-based interview that reflects the brand’s energy and ethos. Available in multiple languages, the AI-driven interview screens for alignment with the “Juicer DNA” and the brand’s core values, ensuring that every candidate feels seen and valued.
Candidates receive an engaging and fair interview experience as well as personality insights and coaching tips as part of their journey. In fact, 93% of candidates have found these insights useful, helping to deliver a world-class experience to candidates who are also potential guests of the brand.
“Every candidate interaction reflects our brand,” Sebastian Jeppesen, Global Head of Recruitment, shared. “Sapia.ai makes our recruitment process fair, enriching, and culture-driven.”
Results That Matter
For Joe & The Juice, the collaboration has yielded impressive results:
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33% Reduction in Screening Time: Pre-vetted shortlists from Sapia.ai’s platform ensure that recruiters can focus on top candidates, getting them behind the bar faster.
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Improved Candidate Satisfaction: With a 9/10 satisfaction score from over 55,000 interviews, candidates appreciate the fairness and transparency of the process.
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Bias-Free Hiring: By eliminating CVs and integrating blind AI that prioritizes fairness, Joe & The Juice ensures their hiring reflects the diverse communities they serve.
Frederik Rosenstand, Group Director of People & Development at Joe & The Juice, highlighted the transformative impact: “Our juicers are our future leaders, so using ethical AI to find the people who belong at Joe is critical to our long-term success. And now we do that with a fair, unbiased experience that aligns directly with our brand.”
Trailblazing for the hospitality industry
In an industry so wholly centred on people, Joe & the Juice is paving the way for similar brands to adopt technology that enables inclusive, human-first experiences that can reflect a brand’s core values.
If you’re curious about how Sapia.ai can transform your hiring process, check out our full case study on Joe & The Juice here.
Blog
Sapia.ai Wrapped 2024
It’s been a year of Big Moves at Sapia.ai. From welcoming groundbreaking brands to achieving incredible milestones in our product innovation and scale, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in hiring.
And we’re just getting started 🚀
Take a look at the highlights of 2024
All-in-one hiring platform
This year, with the addition of Live Interview, we’re proud to say our platform now covers screening, assessing and scheduling.
It’s an all-in-one volume hiring platform that enables our customers to deliver a world-leading experience from application through to offer.
Supercharging hiring efficiency
Every 15 seconds, a candidate is interviewed with Sapia.ai.
This year, we’ve saved hiring managers and recruiters hours of precious time that can now be used for higher-value tasks.
Giving candidates the best experience
Our platform allows candidates to be their best selves, so our customers can find the people that truly belong with them. They’re proud to use a technology that’s changing hiring, for good.
Leading the way in AI for hiring
We’ve continued to push the boundaries in leveraging ethical AI for hiring, with new products on the way for Coaching, Internal Mobility & Interview Builders.