The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Transforming Public Sector Human Resource Management Functions

Amin Memar Toloui; Hossein Shahbazi

doi:10.63053/ijmea.78

Authors

Amin Memar Toloui Ph.D. Student in Human Resource Management, Islamic Azad University, Semnan Branch
Hossein Shahbazi Ph.D. Student in Human Resource Management, Islamic Azad University, Semnan Branch

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63053/ijmea.78

Keywords:

Artificial Intelligence, Public Sector Human Resource Management, Algorithmic Bureaucracy.

Abstract

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into public sector operations is fundamentally reshaping the structural landscape of public administration, introducing unprecedented operational paradigms in Human Resource Management (HRM). As digital transformation rapidly accelerates globally, advanced AI technologies—ranging from machine learning and natural language processing to predictive analytics and cognitive computing—offer critical, data-driven solutions to the longstanding bureaucratic inefficiencies that have historically characterized government HRM. This comprehensive review examines the current trajectory of AI adoption within public sector HR, critically analyzing its systemic impact across core functional domains such as talent acquisition, performance appraisal, continuous learning and development, and strategic workforce analytics. Drawing upon an exhaustive synthesis of recent empirical and conceptual literature, the analysis reveals that targeted AI adoption generates highly quantifiable economic benefits, enhances complex decision-making accuracy, and actively mitigates historical human biases. However, the profound transition from traditional administrative frameworks to an advanced algorithmic bureaucracy introduces immense operational complexities. Public sector organizations face uniquely rigid challenges, including strictly enforced ethical and accountability standards, the absolute necessity of upholding democratic merit principles, severe algorithmic opacity, and acute infrastructural disparities across global regions. High-adoption regions within the European Union demonstrate significant, measurable efficiency gains, while emerging economies heavily face debilitating socio-technical barriers related to digital literacy, legacy data infrastructure, and resource limitations. By systematically anchoring these observed phenomena in established theoretical frameworks, this article constructs a comprehensive conceptual model of AI-HRM explicitly tailored to the public sector. The analysis culminates in strategic implications for public HR leaders and high-level policymakers, emphasizing the absolute imperative of balancing automated administrative efficiency with necessary human discretion, ethical governance, and the unwavering preservation of core public values in the algorithmic age.

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