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AI, Bias, & Hiring in 2021

AI, Bias, & Hiring in 2021

Tech Target: 7 Talent Acquisition Strategies for Better Hiring in 2021, Luke Marson, December 8, 2020 – This article anticipates an economic rebound for 2021 that could help with hiring trends and notes that candidate experience will be crucial to capitalize on those. Suggestions the author offers for better hiring for the new year include optimizing career sites and implementing ATS. The article also urges organizations to adopt remote hiring practices and to employ AI and machine learning technologies and to act on candidate feedback. 

Quartz: How Effective Is Artificial Intelligence in Removing Racial Bias in Hiring? Chika Dunga, November 13, 2020 – The author notes a growing number of companies are placing bets on AI to solve racism when it comes to hiring and creating a more inclusive workforce. In some cases, this has meant removing many traditional aspects of the hiring process. As ATS has become increasingly sophisticated in the last several years, the promise of efficiency and blind hiring has proven difficult. As it turns out, algorithms that sift through thousands of resumes can often perpetuate structural inequities in hiring. The author outlines careful steps AI developers must take to prevent this. For example, Amazon discovered that the algorithm they used in their own hiring penalized resumes with the word women and was biased against candidates that went to certain women’s colleges. While often unintentional, it remains critical that such problems must be rooted out of your ATS and hiring structure. 

Motley Fool: Artificial intelligence Just Revealed a Potential Concern for COVID Vaccine Makers, Jason Hawthorne, December 9, 2020 – The author of this article points out an interesting use for AI that scientists at MIT are exploring to uncover problems without human help. As it turns out, this research raised some questions about the reported efficacy of the celebrated COVD-19 vaccines from Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and others. It turns out that vaccine makers focused on something called the “spike protein” that enables COVID-19 to invade human cells and begin replicating. The potential problem is that this is not the only way for infection to happen. So, when the MIT AI lab ran models of the vaccine on the general population and determined it was not as effective as the makers said, they discovered the issue through AI. The AI-powered model noted that not everyone responds the same way to every means of infection and therefore, preventing the spike-protein manner of infection helped some, but not others. It was still effective as vaccines are concerned, however, unfortunately, it was less effective for blacks and Asians due to genetic differences. 

SHRM: 5 Tips to Help Workers Upskill and Adapt to Artificial Intelligence, Joseph Romsey, November 30, 2020 – The author cites the World Economic Forum, who predicts that AI will displace 75 million jobs by 20200, but will also create 133 million new roles. That’s a net gain of 58 million. But, preparing our workforce to adjust to this fast-approaching reality will become a major challenge for HR organizations. The author’s tips include being clear about your AI strategy and value, explaining how AI can benefit employee experience, exploring ways AI can help employees beyond the elimination of manual processes, promoting a culture of learning and development, and sharing successes and best practices. 


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