Well, the hiring manager likes you—but what does the robot think? I’m Amy E. Feldman.
You might think it’s your firm handshake that determines whether you get the job but in fact, a 2020 study by Mercer found that 30% of companies use Artificial Intelligence algorithms to locate candidates, and then screen and evaluate the prospective new hires. We know that humans can be biased, but the algorithms may also unfairly favor some groups of applicants over the others.
Last month, New York passed the first law of its kind in the country to require companies that use AI in the hiring process to assess whether an algorithm exhibits bias based on sex, race, or ethnicity. And employers are going to have to tell job applicants who live in New York when they use AI in the hiring process. Other states are very likely to follow suit. So both companies and applicants should be aware that just because it’s not human doesn’t mean it’s not biased.
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