Jun 5, 2025
According to the "People at Work 2024" report prepared by the ADP Research Institute, 32% of business leaders in Latin America believe that AI will be the main driver of change in talent management over the next two years. This transformation, however, requires a balance between technological efficiency and the protection of labor rights.
Automation of labor and payroll processes
Solutions such as ADP, Deel, Remote, and Factorial already apply artificial intelligence algorithms to streamline and audit processes:
Automatic calculation of payroll and social security contributions.
Salary adjustments in accordance with local regulatory changes.
Automatic labor compliance verification in over 150 jurisdictions.
Generation of compliance reports on regulations such as minimum wages, employer taxes, or mandatory benefits.
For example, in 2024, Deel launched an AI-based compliance monitor that tracks labor legal updates in real time. It also uses predictive models to correctly classify workers as employees or contractors, with over 90% accuracy based on its internal validations (source: Deel Compliance Report 2024).
This type of technology has made it easier for companies in Costa Rica to hire remote employees without exposing themselves to occupational risks, especially those linked to tourism, technology, or creative services.
Artificial intelligence for recruitment and retention
Recruiting platforms like LinkedIn Recruiter AI or HireVue use AI to:
Filter resumes by skills and experience.
Detect cultural affinity based on language and behavior.
Automate initial interviews using virtual assistants.
Furthermore, global companies such as IBM have reported that their internal AI tools predict voluntary resignations with 95% accuracy, by analyzing signals such as declining performance, changing habits, and internal feedback (source: Forbes, 2023).
These applications allow HR departments to anticipate key talent losses and plan preventive measures, such as organizational climate adjustments, internal turnover, or training plans.
Discrimination and risks of using AI in HR
The use of artificial intelligence in human resources must be carefully managed, as it also involves significant risks:
Algorithmic biases: Models trained on historical data can reproduce patterns of discrimination based on age, gender, or nationality.
Lack of explainability: Decisions made by AI without clear justification can violate labor rights or generate claims of arbitrariness.
Data Privacy: Excessive employee monitoring, including for productivity analysis purposes, may violate the Law on the Protection of Individuals with Respect to the Processing of Personal Data (Law 8968, Costa Rica).
In the European Union, the draft AI Act regulation will require companies using AI in recruitment or job evaluation processes to ensure transparency, the right to appeal, and final human oversight (source: European Parliament, 2024).
Situation in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is no stranger to this trend. While the use of AI in human resources is still in its infancy, companies with international operations have already begun using tools like Deel and Remote to comply with foreign labor regulations and manage global payroll from within the country.
Furthermore, the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (ENIA) 2024–2027, launched by the Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT), promotes the ethical use of AI in areas such as employment, productivity, and digital government.
For its part, the CCSS has begun efforts to modernize its systems with data analytics tools to improve the auditing of employer payrolls, which could eventually integrate artificial intelligence to detect underreporting of salaries or fictitious employment relationships.
Artificial intelligence offers a real opportunity to modernize talent management in Costa Rica. From facilitating legal compliance to anticipating turnover issues, AI can increase the efficiency and quality of HR processes, even in SMEs with limited resources.
However, its use must be subject to ethical oversight, compliance with current labor laws, and clear human intervention. Automation should not mean dehumanization.
For Costa Rican entrepreneurs, the challenge is not to resist AI, but to learn to integrate it intelligently and responsibly. This is how we build more agile, competitive, and sustainable organizations.