AI Action Summit – Is AI in HR now a free-for-all?

Last week, politicians, academics and business leaders gathered in Paris for the AI Action Summit.

They spent two days discussing how to respond to the rapid development of AI and its resulting impact on society, businesses and individuals.

At the end of the two days, the summit produced a declaration with six main priorities.

These focus on ensuring AI is sustainable for people and the planet, that AI is ethical, transparent, safe, secure and trustworthy, that AI innovation isn’t concentrated in certain markets or countries, and that AI “positively shapes the future of work and labor markets and delivers opportunity for sustainable growth”.

AI and the future of work was a major theme of the French AI Action Summit, with some actions following the event being to “recognize the need to enhance our shared knowledge on the impacts of AI in the job market”.

There was a focus on the need to “better anticipate AI implications for workplaces, training and education”.

Plus, there’s the intention “to use AI to foster productivity, skill development, quality, and working conditions and social dialogue”.

Given the attention paid to AI and the future of work, UNLEASH was keen to dig into the main takeaways for HR leaders from the AI Action Summit – how will this impact their AI buying priorities in 2025 and beyond?

This question is even more urgent as two of the largest economies in attendance – the UK and the US – did not sign the final declaration. How will this impact how HR leaders and HR tech vendors work together on AI?

UNLEASH put these questions to HR experts, some of which were in attendance at the AI Action Summit in Paris. Here are their conclusions for the HR sector.

How will the AI Action Summit affect HR’s buying priorities?

Skylum’s Head of HR Tetiana Hnatiuk is clear that with the UK and US stepping aside from AI Action Summit’s final declaration, rather than having a “global direction for AI”, there’s a “split screen”.

“There’s no global standard. No unified approach. AI in HR is a free-for-all – for now”, James Martin, CEO & Founder Dante AI, tells UNLEASH.

Chief Digital & Technology Officer at AMS, Alan Segal, adds. The reality of AI innovating and evolving “in separate, parallel tracks in different markets will inevitably pose challenges to global businesses’ AI implementation”.

It could even lead to a “few bumps in the road to successful utilization”, adds Segal.

SmartRecruiters’ CEO Rebecca Carr makes it very clear that “while the US and UK opted out of signing the final agreement, HR leaders shouldn’t mistake this as a pass to deprioritize AI governance”.

Instead, it’s “quite the opposite”.

This is not the AI wild west, but “regulation isn’t coming to save you”, states Martin from Dante AI.

HR needs its own rules. “Otherwise you’re gambling with bias, compliance and trust.”

HR leaders need to ask themselves: Who’s responsible when AI gets it wrong? Because without regulation, the answer is you.”

Carr adds that with different regulations across different markets, “HR teams must push for transparency in AI tools” from their vendors.

HR leaders also need to “demand” trust and transparency safeguards, and to future proof their tech investments by aligning “with vendors who are proactively adapting to global regulatory shifts” (not just waiting for legal mandates), adds Carr.

Ultimately, the outcome of the AI Action Summit in Paris means for HR AI “isn’t just some distant policy debate”, states Hnatiuk.

“The stakes are high” for HR departments – they need to “make a call on how much risk are they prepared to absorb for the sake of AI innovation” – that’s according to inploi’s CEO and Co-founder Matthew de la Hey.

In the end, it is incumbent upon HR leaders—who handle some of the most sensitive data in any organization—to strike a prudent balance between innovation and responsibility,” adds de la Hey.

SmartRecruiters’ Carr agrees – she tells UNLEASH that it is the responsibility of businesses (and HR leaders) to “take ownership of responsible AI implementation, rather than waiting for policy to catch up”.

de la Hey concludes: “Those who do so will be well positioned to gain a competitive edge in talent management while safeguarding their brand and their people.”