With parents using artificial intelligence to scan prospective babysitters’ social media and an endless slew of articles explaining how your résumé can “beat the bots,” you might be wondering whether a robot will be offering you your next job.
We’re not there yet, but recruiters are increasingly using AI to make the first round of cuts and to determine whether a job posting is even advertised to you. Often trained on data collected about previous or similar applicants, these tools can cut down on the effort recruiters need to expend in order to make a hire. Last year, 67 percent of hiring managers and recruiters surveyed by LinkedIn said AI was saving them time.
But critics argue that such systems can introduce bias, lack accountability and transparency, and aren’t guaranteed to be accurate. Take, for instance, the Utah-based company HireVue, which sells a job interview video platform that can use artificial intelligence to assess candidates and, it claims, predict their likelihood to succeed in a position. The company says it uses on-staff psychologists to help develop customized assessment algorithms that reflect the ideal traits for a particular role a client (usually a company) hopes to hire for, like a sales representative or computer engineer.
That algorithm is then used to analyze how individual candidates answer preselected questions in a recorded video interview, grading their verbal responses and, in some cases, facial movements. HireVue claims the tool — which is used by about 100 clients, including Hilton and Unilever — is more predictive of job performance than human interviewers conducting the same structured interviews.
But last month, lawyers at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a privacy rights nonprofit, filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, pushing the agency to investigate the company for potential bias, inaccuracy, and lack of transparency. It also accused HireVue of engaging in “deceptive trade practices” because the company claims it doesn’t use facial recognition. (EPIC argues HireVue’s facial analysis qualifies as facial recognition.)
The lawsuit follows the introduction of the Algorithmic Accountability Act in Congress earlier this year, which would grant the FTC authority to create regulations to check so-called “automated decision systems” for bias. Meanwhile, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) — the federal agency that deals with employment discrimination — is reportedly now investigating at least two discrimination cases involving job decision algorithms, according to Bloomberg Law.
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