A BUDDHIST-INFORMED APPROACH TO HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE ORGANIZATIONAL ADAPTATION IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract

This academic article aims to analyze the ongoing digital transformation that has driven organizations to adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a key tool for enhancing the efficiency of Human Resource Management (HRM). However, excessive reliance on such technology has created significant challenges and ethical crises affecting employees, including job insecurity leading to alienation, algorithmic bias resulting from biased data processing and discriminatory outcomes, and the opacity of black-box systems. These challenges directly undermine human value and dignity by reducing employees to mere resources that can be replaced by machines, highlighting the limitation that technology without inner wisdom cannot assume responsibility for the moral consequences of its decisions. To address these challenges, this article proposes an integrated approach that incorporates the “Buddhist Way” into modern Human Resource Management. The Iddhipada 4 principles are applied to foster positive attitudes and prepare employees to acquire new technological skills, while the Brahmavihara 4 principles provide an ethical foundation for leaders and human resource professionals to manage organizational change with compassion and fairness. The synthesis of these concepts leads to new knowledge in the form of the “Buddhist Human Resource Management Model for Adaptation in the Artificial Intelligence Era.” The model emphasizes the strategic role of human resource management in balancing the technological dimension, which prioritizes quantitative efficiency, with the human dimension, which relies on inner wisdom to guide ethical judgment. Ultimately, AI should serve as a supportive tool, while humans remain at the center of value-based judgment and decision-making. Such a balance enables organizations to navigate technological transformation with resilience and ethical integrity while achieving sustainable growth.