Digi society
My experiences so far of the digitalization has brought some changes to the field of payroll and human resources (HR). The first thing that comes to mind is the changes related to payroll processing. In the past, payroll involved a lot of manual work, but nowadays most of the payroll process can be automated. Additionally, various notifications to different parties can be sent directly from the system, and payslips can, for example, be delivered directly to the employee’s online banking account. This saves a lot of time.
Automated processes also reduce the risk of typing errors associated with manual work. With digitalization, creating various reports for client companies and management has also become easier. Thanks to modern systems, all necessary information is often available in one place, making it simple to combine and present in the required format.
For instance, tracking sick leaves and their associated costs is now much easier. Similarly, vacation pay allocations are automated in many systems, and reports can be generated with the click of a button. This significantly saves time and eliminates the possibility of typing errors that were always a risk in the past when information was often manually transferred from one system to another.
Future ideas
I think it will generally change our lives a lot in the future. For example, I believe that the way many different jobs are performed will change, and some tasks and professions may even disappear or, rather, be taken over by artificial intelligence.
In the future, administrative tasks in human resources will surely be reduced, and the focus will shift toward providing individualized services and finding solutions for clients.
I also believe that artificial intelligence (AI) can be utilized in areas like recruitment, particularly in screening applicants. AI could also be used in HR to handle the simplest questions from employees and client companies. For instance, we could implement a chatbot that employees and client companies could consult first. This would free up a significant amount of time for those working in human resources. However, the downside is that staff and client companies might no longer feel valued by the organization, which could negatively impact their engagement.
AI could also be used to analyze HR-related data, which is often used to support decision-making and strategic planning.
My opinion is that data, especially big data, is highly beneficial, but it also comes with risks. For example, if data is used in recruitment alongside AI, the decisions made by AI would rely solely on the data. This could lead to a situation where an individual’s personality is completely overlooked, which might harm the recruitment process. Similarly, if people were classified as criminals based on data and predictive algorithms, it could be problematic.
There are certainly other challenges as well, but perhaps humans can take risks and potential harms into account, or at least react to them once detected and adjust programming accordingly. At its best, AI and big data can help people in many ways in the future, as long as we know how to use it correctly and remain its master rather than letting it take control.
The effects of Data protection reform on my personal and working life
The General Data Protection Regulation (maybe better known as GDPR) has changed how we handle data at my office. We had to make certain changes regarding how we store our clients’ data and how we dispose of it when necessary. At first, the new processes felt burdensome, but gradually we got used to them.
It has also affected my personal life because I feel it’s easier to influence and know what information various service providers have about me, and I can remove data if needed.
In my opinion, GDPR has mostly brought positive changes to protect us, even though frequent cookie consent pop-ups and lengthy privacy notices on websites can be annoying.
Chat GPT
Chat GPT is not very familiar to me. Basically all I know about it was that it is ChatGPT is an Artificial Intelligence that can use for conversations, ask questions or use to generate content.
I asked the Chat GPT a few different questions related to your working field. The answers to my questions were good and most of the answers were right, but I immediately noticed that some of the answers were wrong.
For example, I asked question related to vacation days and the answer was wrong. The answer would have been correct if I had wanted to know how that particular vacation-related matter is handled in a specific collective agreement. However, I asked the question generally, and in that case, it usually concerns how the Annual Leave Act interprets the matter. If I were not so familiar with collective agreements and the vacation-related issues they contain, I certainly would not have realized that the answer to my question was incorrect. That type of mistake could potentially have some consequences in my work.
I also asked a question about international daily allowances. The first answer I received was incorrect, regarding this question, I wanted to test what would happen if I asked it to double-check the information or asked if it was sure. So I asked ChatGPT if it was sure that the rules it presented applied to international daily allowances, it apologized and said it would check the information. Soon after, I received a new answer, which was correct. To my surprise, I also received the sources.
Some of the answers, however, were correct and would significantly speed up the work, especially if the topics are unfamiliar and there is a lot of information to browse and search through. Based on what I have read and heard, I believe that artificial intelligence will save a lot of time in the future, particularly for people working in expert roles, and will also make their work easier.
I am, however, always somewhat skeptical and now find myself wondering what will happen in the long term if our use of artificial intelligence increases significantly and we start relying on it completely. Is it possible that our memory or skills will no longer be preserved as they once were, or could the change be purely positive, with AI simply enhancing our expertise and supporting us in our work? This remains to be seen.
Perhaps the answers would be more likely to be correct if the question is asked with very specific details. However, I find this somewhat challenging because often the situation might be such that you are not even entirely sure yourself what aspects need to be considered in a matter you are unfamiliar with, and you end up asking for help, whether it would be from ChatGPT or a person.
I think ChatGPT is heading in the right direction, but I still wouldn’t fully trust it because I could have believed its wrong answers as the truth if I weren’t critical and didn’t already know the correct answers. I’ve heard that previously ChatGPT didn’t provide sources, even when asked. If it provides sources whenever asked, then a person can review the source if needed, verify the information, and assess the reliability of the source themselves. Without sources it is impossible to verify the information from the original source or understand or to understand the context in which it was recorded and what it might mean.
Self evaluation
Through this assignment, I became familiar with ChatGPT, or more familiar with it. I had barely used it before, only testing it a few times. However, I had heard a lot about it and noticed how much it is being discussed in the workplace right now. For this assignment, I created an account on ChatGPT and had the opportunity to test it.
As mentioned earlier, the majority of the answers were correct, which increased my confidence in AI and ChatGPT. Previously, I believed that I wouldn’t personally use AI in my current job or recommend it to others. However, I must revise my stance. I plan to use ChatGPT in my work in the future, but definitely with caution. I will undoubtedly remain critical and cross-check information from other sources.
Blog comments
I commented on Sabita`s and Sivam’s blogs.