Artificial intelligence in career development: a scoping review

Artificial intelligence (AI) has received more scholarly attention over the past few years, evidenced by the increasing volume of literature on AI. However, most of our current knowledge about AI, including its applications, has been derived from studies situated in the context of automation, medicine, and business. This article is a response to acall for expanding AI research to understand its implications for people and their career development. The goal is to provide an updated, holistic understanding of existing research on AI in career development. Through a scoping review of 101 journal publications, this article offered three insights. First, AI has a double-edged sword effect on career development. While AI technology helps streamline career development processes in organisations, it can also disrupt a workplace by causing job insecurity. Secondly, with the unintended consequences, integrating AI into organisational practices can backfire, leading employees to explore alternate careers. Lastly, infusing AI into career development programmes has caused some ethical concerns. With increasing applications of AI, humans are now expected to trust technology-based output, even when such output contradicts their own knowledge and experience. Such blind trust in AI may hinder career progression by providing inaccurate information and advice to the workforce.