Here is an uncomfortable thought for your next performance review: the number on the table may have been shaped by software, and the person sliding it across to you may not be able to tell you why.
Korn Ferry's latest Global Total Rewards Pulse survey puts a figure on it — only 16 percent of organizations trust their managers to explain AI-driven pay decisions to staff. Read that again. Algorithms are already sitting in the room where your raise gets decided, and in more than eight out of ten companies, leadership doesn't believe the humans delivering the news can walk you through the reasoning.
That gap — between machine-made decisions and human-grade explanations — is exactly where regulators are now aiming. Cities and states across the US have started stacking bias-audit, notice and human-review requirements onto automated employment tools. The direction of travel is clear: if a machine touched the decision, you increasingly have a right to know.
The move for you: at your next review, ask one calm question — “Was an automated tool used in this decision?” Then negotiate with receipts. Keep your own record of wins, metrics and market rates, because the algorithm certainly keeps one on you. In a world where the math is unexplainable, the person with documentation is the only one in the room with evidence.
