How Does Artificial Intelligence Affect Recruiting?

Gone are the days when people were required to comb through newspapers, peruse local bulletin boards, or speak with various businesses in order to find a job. The internet has made it easier than ever for job seekers and companies to connect, giving both sides more options. However, many companies are finding that there are too many potential candidates and that using artificial intelligence (AI) helps to streamline the recruiting process.

How does artificial intelligence affect recruitment and selection in an organization?

There are certainly benefits to using AI in recruitment. AI software can drastically reduce the amount of time spent looking through applications and resumes to find the most qualified candidates for the job. It can also automate some of the repetitive and time-consuming tasks required of recruiters. This can be a huge time saver for smaller companies, who often only have one employee filling a human resources role or even multiple roles. AI can also be used during the interview process by analyzing both interviewers and interviewees. Certain software records and analyzes interviews to make sure they are being conducted fairly and consistently. There is also software to record and analyze interviewee’s behaviors, answers, and facial expressions to help companies determine if that person is the best fit. However, using AI technology can also have a negative impact on recruitment and selection. If AI is trained using discriminatory data, then bias will exist in the way it identifies potential candidates. It can also dehumanize the process for job seekers who feel like they are only interacting with computers and negatively affect their perception of a company. Technical issues, privacy concerns, and security risks are all downsides to using AI as well.

Is AI recruiting unethical?

A conceptual study of the ethics in recruiting through AI published in AI and Ethics, found that, while AI recruiting isn’t necessarily unethical, it is new enough for there to still be a lot of ethical concern and gray area surrounding it. Because important hiring decisions are being made by AI that can significantly impact people’s lives, companies must be careful about the way software is programmed and used to make decisions. When using AI recruiting, companies need to understand and be able to explain the reasoning behind the decisions being made.  Although the use of AI eliminates human bias, it is still programmed and trained by humans and their data. If bias or discrimination exists in the data it’s trained on, they will perpetuate in the AI as well. Privacy is another ethical concern because of the amount of personal data that is being accessed and stored. It is essential for companies to monitor their AI to maintain quality assurance. 

Can artificial intelligence replace the human recruiter?

Simply put, no, AI cannot replace the human recruiter. While the use of AI tools and technology are an asset to the recruiting process, humans are still needed for things such as relationship building, empathy, critical thinking, complex decision-making, and negotiating, all of which are a necessary and important part of the recruitment process.