Using AI-powered hiring systems is misguided, and new laws are needed to protect applicants from bias, according to employment and labour law specialist Ifeoma Ajunwa, who says it could worsen employment discrimination. Ajunwa said automated hiring could create a closed-loop system, in which algorithm-created ads attract certain applicants, those that are hired are evaluated and those evaluations are used to create future ads. The system has neither transparency nor accountability, and can produce age, race, gender or mental health discrimination. “AI will be able to do things like automatically determine whether someone is qualified for an entry-level job based on their past performance rather than the skills they have now,” she said.
Using AI-powered hiring systems is misguided, and new laws are needed to protect applicants from bias, according to employment and labour law specialist Ifeoma Ajunwa, who says it could worsen employment discrimination. Ajunwa said automated hiring could create a closed-loop system, in which algorithm-created ads attract certain applicants, those that are hired are evaluated and those evaluations are used to create future ads. The system has neither transparency nor accountability, and can produce age, race, gender or mental health discrimination. Laws to allow action against the bias of automated hiring system would be a first step in tackling the problem.