AI in recruitment may be doing more harm than good

AI in recruitment may be doing more harm than good

AI might be changing the game for recruitment and hiring but a RMIT AI expert warns that it may come with a cost.

Topics: artificial intelligence (AI), social biases, recruitment, biases in AI

Dr Dana McKay, Senior Lecturer in Innovative Interactive Technologies

“AI algorithms are mirrors, reflecting the data they are fed. Given most data reflects social biases, many AI algorithms automatically present biased results. 

“This can have significant negative consequences, especially when it comes to recruitment.

“A few years ago, Google was found to be advertising high-paid jobs to men and not women, because fewer women held high-paid jobs. 

“This reinforces the very bias the underlying data represented – women couldn’t apply for the jobs they didn’t see. 

“Similarly, a sentencing algorithm used in the US that was supposed to remove judicial bias by assigning sentences automatically. This algorithm was developed based on existing judicial decisions and assigned African Americans longer sentences.

“These biases are particularly insidious because we often don’t know how an AI generated recommendation has been reached, and computers are believed to be unbiased.

“With a lot of employers now starting to use some form of AI in recruiting and hiring, there’s a question around whether candidates are being rejected solely because they did not fit the bias. 

“The law is catching up with these problems though, and a recent landmark case in the US made companies legally responsible for using biased recruiting software, even if it is off the shelf. 

“Similar laws could apply here in Australia, with, for example, the Victorian ‘positive duty’ law that requires employers to eliminate discrimination. 

“Ultimately, we always need to remember that AI algorithms are only as good as the data they are based on.”

Dr Dana McKay studies the intersection of people, technology and information, and her focus is on ensuring advances in information technology benefit society.

***

General media enquiries: RMIT External Affairs and Media, 0439 704 077 or news@rmit.edu.au

11 December 2023

Share

11 December 2023

Share

Engage

Related News

news-aroma-intensity-1220px.jpg

Confinement may affect how we smell and feel about food

New research from RMIT University found confined and isolating environments changed the way people smelled and responded emotionally to certain food aromas.

Dr Biplob Pramanik shows the difference between a concrete block coated with his team’s anti-fatberg invention (left) compared to a block without any coating after undergoing an experiment that mimicked a sewer environment under extreme conditions to speed up the fatberg formation process. The white coloured blobs on the uncoated block are a mixture of fat, oil and grease (FOG) that have been deposited on the block. Credit: Will Wright, RMIT University

Anti-fatberg invention could help unclog city sewers

Engineers from RMIT University have invented a protective coating for concrete pipes that could help drastically reduce the formation of fatbergs in sewers.

news-carpet-concrete-1220px.jpg

Carpet fibres stop concrete cracking

Engineers in Australia have found a way to make stronger and crack-resistant concrete with scrap carpet fibres, rolling out the red carpet for sustainability in the construction sector.

BComm_1220x732.jpg

Brand-new BCom launches for tech-minded business leaders of the future

RMIT is partnering with Accenture, ANZ, L’Oréal and Salesforce to deliver a new undergraduate degree designed for students with a keen eye on leadership.

Show more
aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

More information