Recruiting Future with Matt Alder - What's Next For Talent Acquisition, HR & Hiring? Ep 769: Managing AI Risk In Talent Acquisition
Feb 19, 2026
Kyle Lagunas, industry analyst and founder of Kyle & Co., researches HR tech, AI trends and risk readiness. He explains why talent teams must shift from risk avoidance to risk readiness. He breaks down defensibility, human-in-the-loop design, rigorous pilots and measurement. He explores cultural and regulatory barriers and how AI can force long-overdue transformation.
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Credibility Under Constraint
- HR credibility is eroding because talent teams are constrained and falling behind other functions in AI adoption.
- Kyle Lagunas warns HR must sit at AI councils and meet business expectations despite tight budgets and stretched teams.
Employment Use Cases Viewed As High Risk
- The EU and other regulators are treating HR AI use cases as high risk, forcing extra scrutiny on hiring automation.
- Kyle notes simple automations like scheduling are low risk, but matching/scoring algorithms attract legal attention.
Defensibility Requires Redesign Before Scale
- Defensibility means documenting inputs, outputs and process design before scaling AI so automated actions can be justified.
- Kyle explains many teams simply 'lift-and-shifted' processes to AI without redesign, amplifying past biases and undocumented decisions.