Human Resources: The Era of Digital Reductionism?
Human Resources: The Era of Digital Reductionism?  
Podcast: Ruined By The Internet? | Uncovering the human cost of our digital world
Published On: Sat Oct 11 2025
Description: The internet promised to make human resources more efficient, objective, and data-driven. But has it instead turned a human-centric discipline into an automated, impersonal system - introducing new ethical concerns, workplace surveillance, and privacy risks that nobody signed up for?We're joined by Dr Justine Ferrer - Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management at the Deakin Business School - whose research sits at the intersection of people, technology, and the ethics of how organisations treat the humans inside them.Welcome to Ruined By The Internet? - the show where we examine how technology is shaping modern life - whether we want it to or not.Follow or subscribe to never miss the next investigation - new episodes regularly.Visit us: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/Help us investigate ourselves: https://www.ruinedbytheinternet.com/survey/Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/rbtishowIn this episode we investigate how automation and AI have reshaped HR practices, examine the tension between efficiency and the human touch in people management, explore the surveillance and data privacy risks that digital HR systems have introduced, and ask whether AI can ever be genuinely unbiased in hiring - or whether it simply encodes existing inequalities at scale.00:00 - The internet's impact on human resources and people management02:57 - The shift toward strategic HR, and what got left behind06:00 - Balancing automation and the human touch in a digital workplace08:47 - Workplace surveillance and the erosion of employee trust11:53 - Data privacy and security challenges in modern HR systems14:48 - How small businesses are navigating HR technology without the resources17:57 - AI, algorithmic bias, and the future of hiring20:55 - The skills HR professionals need to survive the automation wave23:43 - Building an ethical framework for AI in human resources26:50 - The future of human resources in a technology-driven worldGuest links - Dr Justine FerrerLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/justineferrer