AI: Friend, Foe, or Just a Tool?

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere right now. From Microsoft Copilot to ChatGPT, it’s reshaping how we work, create, and even think. But while the usefulness of these tools is undeniable, we have to ask ourselves some important questions:

Do we really understand what data we’re putting in? Who can see it? Where is it stored? Who is processing it? And perhaps most importantly — how accurate is the information it gives us?

These are not small questions. They’re the foundation for how we decide to use AI responsibly in our personal and professional lives.

The Time-Saving Temptation

The productivity boost AI offers is real. One major UK bank found that staff using tools like Copilot and ChatGPT saved two and a half hours per week. That might not sound huge at first glance — but multiply it over a year across a workforce of 200,000 people, and you’re talking millions of hours saved.

AI can help generate ideas for articles, suggest headlines, plan travel itineraries, minute meetings, merge documents, or summarise complex reports. But there’s a flip side: Are we in danger of outsourcing so much of our thinking that we lose the habit of doing it ourselves?

Data Sovereignty and Trust

Some organisations are now limiting or banning the use of certain AI tools in countries such as China. Why? Because of concerns about where data is being stored and how it might be used.

If AI providers are storing our inputs, we need to be confident they’re doing so for the right reasons — and that they’re not introducing bias into the results. Bias can be subtle but significant: political, gender-based, ethnic, or cultural. If AI is learning from a skewed data set, its “answers” will be skewed too.

The Recruitment Reality Check

At Kingsley, we’ve seen another side effect of the AI boom — the rise of AI-generated CVs. In some cases, it’s painfully obvious when ChatGPT has crafted a document to match a job description word-for-word.

The real problem emerges when you interview the candidate and discover they’re not as qualified as the CV suggests. This isn’t always intentional deception — but it creates headaches for hiring teams, increases workload, and wastes time that AI was supposed to save.

While AI screening tools might help identify AI-written CVs, there’s a danger in relying solely on them. A CV could be rejected without a human ever taking a closer look.

The Human Touch Still Matters

For now — and likely for some time to come — experienced, professional recruiters remain the best safeguard against AI-related hiring pitfalls. Human judgment, intuition, and the ability to ask the right follow-up questions are qualities no algorithm can replicate.

At Kingsley, we bring that human touch. We know how to spot the difference between a polished AI-generated profile and a genuinely skilled candidate. Our clients rely on us to cut through the noise, save time, and make the right hires.

AI is here to stay

It’s a tool — powerful, yes, but not perfect. Used wisely, it can make our work faster and more creative. Used carelessly, it can erode trust, introduce bias, and create more problems than it solves. The key is balance: combining the efficiency of AI with the discernment only humans can provide.