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On July 14, 2026, at Loeb’s AI Summit in Chicago, lawyers at Loeb discussed the potential benefits of and concerns regarding artificial intelligence (AI) tools that are designed to help employers hire, monitor, evaluate and terminate members of their workforce. Here are some key takeaways in the employment space:
The human factor of employment decisions remains the key focus. This leads to more time focused on the threshold question of if artificial intelligence tools should be used to aid in employment decisions, rather than moving immediately to how such tools will be implemented. Many employers remain skeptical that AI tools will add significant value for employers, and that such value will substantially outweigh the potential error rate, legal risk and diminished employee morale.
Employers are focused on how to manage the data—what employee data is being put into the AI tool, where is that data going, and who has access? All of these questions are key when considering that AI tools used for employment purposes will inherently have access to sensitive employee information, including but not limited to medical information and confidential performance reviews.
Employers generally acknowledge that bias audits are likely necessary, even in the absence of express legal requirements, but remain daunting. Who conducts that audit, what data is used and how to interpret and respond to the results remain complicated questions for employers to evaluate.
Thus, spending time to first ensure that AI use aligns with an employer’s broader goals and approaches to employment decisions is critical. Once that threshold determination is made, employers must then assess the growing patchwork of legal requirements across the country.
