AI Does Not Make Payroll Mistakes

Humans make payroll mistakes.

As we move forward in time, we learn more about what AI can do and what it cannot do.

The first fundamental is knowing AI is software.

As a contrast, traditional software runs using code written in a programming language, while AI runs using human readable instructions.

That's really the difference.

Although it is easy to write, AI will error if you are not careful with the instructions.

Inc. magazine recently published An AI Tool Withheld an Employee’s Paycheck. That’s Really a Human Error, which is a perfect example.

And if curious, the article started from this Reddit post... My company’s new AI payroll bot decided I don’t deserve a paycheck this month

In this story, an employee was not paid a monthly check because an AI system found an error with a time card.

When confronted, the employer responded with "this isn’t a bug but just a part of the learning process" and "it should self-correct next pay cycle". The end result was the employee was told to wait until the next monthly pay cycle to get paid.

This employee did not get paid because of a human mistake, not an AI mistake, AI did what it was programmed to. All the employer had to do was write a paper check.

Back to the point.

Can AI be used to handle administrative tasks? Yes, as long as you program it correctly.

But like any software, it has to be tested, retested, and maintained by a human. As only a human can decide if it is correct.

Here are the final words from the article's author:

"You cannot let AI make decisions for your business. You need a real human. Every time."

I couldn't agree more.