With the EU Artificial Intelligence Act’s inclusion of workplace AI under its prohibited uses, human resource departments are now tasked with re-examining their various AI applications to meet compliance requirements. AI used in employment and the workplace is considered “high-risk” under the AI Act and thus subject to legal stipulations if it can affect a person’s health and safety or employment. Its use in emotional recognition systems in the workplace is prohibited.
Not all HR-focused AI deployments are considered high risk, according to Cian O’Brien, the deputy data protection commissioner for Ireland’s Data Protection Commission. But those wondering how to make that distinction should consider how regulators have approached AI already through existing regulations, most notably the GDPR.
