The Efficiency Trap of Agentic AI in Human Resource Management

ABSTRACT

Agentic AI transforms HRM from data‐driven support to autonomous execution. Organizations deploy these recursive workflows to eliminate human implementation variance, yet we challenge the assumption that such alignment remains optimal. Drawing on Weick's theory of loose coupling, we argue that delegating HR execution to agentic AI creates algorithmic tight coupling. While this generates immediate hyper‐fit, the removal of strategic slack leads to structural calcification, compromising organizational resilience during polycrises. Human line managers provide a critical buffer, enabling the sensemaking necessary to absorb systemic shocks. In contrast, agentic AI workflows governed by instrumental rationality lack the value rationality required for complex organizing. We propose a governance framework to reconcile machine‐driven consistency with the human stewardship required to preserve long‐term organizational adaptability.