From Human Capital to Human Experience: Redefining HRM in the Age of AI

Abstract

Human Resource Management (HRM) is changing radically because of the fast-paced adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in organizational processes. HRM was traditionally based on the human capital efficiency, cost optimization, and productivity indicators, but it is currently shifting to a more holistic approach to the human experience that puts the human well-being, engagement, inclusion, and meaningful work into the limelight. The current paper will discuss how AI-based technologies are transforming the HRM practices and re-defining the nature of the relationship between organizations and staff. Based on the current theories and new findings in the field of HRM, the paper investigates how the transactional and data-intensive HR roles can be changed to experience-based and people-oriented systems, facilitated by AI-powered solutions. Among the most important areas of analysis, it is possible to distinguish AI in talent acquisition, performance management, learning and development, and employee engagement, which can be both strategic and ethically relevant. The paper reasons that although AI can increase accuracy of decision, personalization, and efficiency of tasks, its real worth in HRM is to supplement human judgments and not to substitute them. The necessity of responsible AI adoption that protects the trust of the employees, privacy, equity, and psychological safety is also emphasized. With the combination of human-centered design and the sophisticated analytics, companies will be able to develop adaptive HR ecosystems to strike the right balance of technological innovation and empathy and ethical governance. The study is relevant to the HRM literature because it introduces a theoretical framework that places human experience as a strategic product of AI-powered HR systems. It concludes that the future of HRM lies in the possibility to use AI not only as a productivity tool, but as the reason to create a sustainable, inclusive, and engaging work environment in an ever more digital age.