No consensus around impact of AI in hiring

80% of HR professionals and almost half of candidates are considering or are already using artificial intelligence (AI) in their hiring processes.

This is according to hiring tech company Greenhouse’s recent survey of 2,700 candidates and 100 HR professionals in the US, the UK, Ireland, and Germany.

This could spell trouble. Across the board, people are conflicted about whether AI will create or eradicate bias in the selection of candidates.

“AI shows a lot of promise when it comes to saving time and increasing efficiency in processes and workflows, but the research shows that all stakeholders are apprehensive about broad-spectrum application and the risk of bias within decisions,” Henry Tsai, VP of Product & Design, as well as data science and user research lead, at Greenhouse, shares exclusively with UNLEASH.

62% of HR professionals surveyed believe AI tools can help them determine and hire the best candidate for a role.

But more than a third of HR professionals and over a quarter of candidates believe that this type of emerging tech increases the risk of bias in recruitment.

A major issue is that half of respondents’ organizations have no monitoring or assessment systems in place for the use of AI, meaning that nobody is overseeing this brand-new workplace technology.

Without oversight, it’s impossible to tell if the use of AI tools itself is increasing bias. 84% of HR professionals want more AI education and skills training, and 62% believe more laws relating specifically to AI are needed.

HR, get ahead of policy makers

To tackle these concerns around bias head on, Greenhouse’s research calls on organizations to share when and how AI is being used, and to embrace internal supervision systems and rules surrounding AI.

Doing this has the added benefit of helping organizations prepare for the changes brought on by incoming AI-related regulation.

Commitments like clarity and transparency when using AI – as a recent New York law requires employers to practice during the hiring process – are nearly common sense and immediately actionable.

Tsai continues: “Over 38% of HR professionals believe that candidates should disclose if they’ve used AI in the hiring process.

“Around 50% of candidates stated that companies should do the same. HR leaders should lead by example and be transparent about the use of AI in their hiring process.”

And, as with the use of any new system or tool, it’s important to assess that usage.

“The results show that the majority of companies are not monitoring or evaluating the performance of these tools. If you’re not auditing AI tools or aware of how they’re being utilized to make decisions, there is an increased risk of bias in the hiring process,” notes Tsai.

HR professionals, lead by example through transparency and initiate systems of AI use oversight.

With the EU introducing its AI Act, as well as an AI Code of Conduct in partnership with the US, it is essential for organizations to get prepared for a wave of AI regulation already on the way.