Naturally, AI (artificial intelligence) benefits nearly everything it touches. Still, it is very important to take a close look at the impact it is having on a particular task—and it is perhaps even more important to ask critical questions, as the use of AI unfolds in different vertical markets.
Take for instance one very specific area today: recruitment and hiring. Roughly 95% of HR (human resources) professionals believe AI could help with the application process for candidates, according to a recent study from Tidio. With companies receiving roughly 250 resumes for each corporate job opening, AI offers the opportunity to help match the perfect candidate to the perfect job, helping minimize some of the challenges currently faced by the worker shortage.
Artificial intelligence can help with screening candidates, searching for candidates on different platforms, creating job descriptions, and conducting initial interviews among other things.
The benefits here are obvious. It will free up time, provide insights during the recruitment process, and make the job easier. It will also be able to provide feedback to applicants throughout the process—something that has been missing for years. All in all, about 89% of respondents believe AI just might help with the application process for candidates—and more than 85% believe AI will replace parts of the recruitment process.
But I have some questions. Will using AI in the recruitment process remove unintentional bias? It seems thoughts on this are split. Roughly 68% of those working in HR believe it will remove unintentional bias, while 24% are unsure of the impact it will have. Of those not working in HR, only 43% agree it will remove unintentional bias, while 31% are unsure of the impact it will have.
The good news is AI focuses primarily on the skills and experiences of the candidates. The bad news is the algorithmic bias could potentially discriminate even more, which was the case at Amazon when the algorithm was discriminating against women applicants for positions historically handed to men, according to Tidio. Amazon ended up not rolling out that particular system out companywide.
This plays into another concern I have: Candidates manipulating the technology to get the job. Most people (90%) agree that AI can be manipulated by applicants to secure the job—and more than 46% believe that it can be easily manipulated.
It seems this is happening quite frequently already. A 2019 study by TribePad surveyed 1,000 employees and job seekers in the United Kingdom. It found many job seekers are looking for a way to cheat the system. At that time, roughly 19% have used buzzwords in the CV to manipulate an automated system.
It has become well know that AI and chatbots can easily be hacked—in just about any aspect of a business. Not only could potential workers compromise the hiring process—but use of technology can also put the personal information provided by the candidate at risk.
Still, only 13% worry that using AI in recruitment is dangerous in and of itself. However, most—87%—believe there are some risks. At the end of the day, management needs to be held responsible and examine any ethical concerns that may arise from the use of technology.
Yes, artificial intelligence can help find the right candidates for the job—but humans will need to build and maintain it. As I always say, man and machine will need to work together, hand-in-hand, in order to be successful. But we are reaching a point in time where technology is improving so quickly it all becomes very tricky. So, the question then becomes: is it being used for good or evil? Let’s hope it’s for the former. Do you agree?
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