Nearly one in four organizations already use automation or artificial intelligence (AI) to support hiring, according to a February 2022 survey from the Society for Human Resource Management, and usage is higher—42 percent—among large employers with 5,000 or more employees. A recent report from Recode detailed Amazon’s ambitions to replace some of its recruiters with AI software that can fast-track candidates to interviews without any human involvement.
Today AI technology can do more than just screen resumes. Companies may also use AI tools to monitor candidates’ social media presence quickly and pick up on red flags. Candidates might complete a first interview for a job without ever speaking to a real person at the company, thanks to AI-powered video software.
“It’s sort of an arms race,” said Josh Bersin, who runs a professional development academy for human resources and learning professionals. “If you don’t have this kind of technology, your recruiters are spending a lot of extra time, and they’re probably missing people.”
But hiring-focused AI is mired with ethical quandaries, as some researchers argue the technology is biased against certain types of candidates. Though the tools have been around for about a decade, governments are finally starting to scrutinize them, prompting further debate about where employers should draw the line when using automation in the workplace. Starting next month, employers in New York City could face penalties if they don’t audit their AI hiring tools for bias.
How employers use AI in hiring
Though software designed to detect certain keywords on a candidate’s resume has been around for decades, automation tools for recruiters have become much more sophisticated in the last seven to eight years, according to Bersin.
Whereas older tracking software used to simply identify promising candidates based on certain words on their resume, today’s technology can dig into a candidate’s social network, skills, and past employers they share with successful employees currently at a firm, to determine if they might be a good fit.
Read more at https://observer.com/2022/12/a-growing-reliance-on-ai-in-hiring-is-making-regulators-and-lawmakers-nervous/