AI in Recruitment: Is it Good or Bad for Diversity?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has incredible potential to positively influence the diversity of new hires as well as reduce bias in recruitment, but it isn’t foolproof. 

Diversity Council Australia recently partnered with Hudson RPO and Monash University to research the impact of unconscious bias on recruitment and selection decisions using artificial intelligence (AI).

The research intends to explore how effective AI is at reducing bias, how recruiters can work with AI to improve diversity outcomes and how much technical expertise is actually needed to select and use AI properly. 

Developers suggest AI can remove bias from recruitment to drive workplace diversity and inclusion, however the research to date from recruitment professionals suggests the AI’s customisation tools leave them uncertain about their impact on bias.

Lead researcher from Monash University, Professor Andreas Leibbrandt said, “If AI tools were going to disrupt biases in recruitment, users need to have at least a basic understanding of its functioning, limitations, and strengths.”  

To generate this level of understanding, it is crucial that AI developers and providers, HR leaders and recruiters, and social scientists work together,” said Professor Leibbrandt. 

Kimberley Hubble, Hudson RPO CEO said, “Like any technology, it isn’t about using AI for AI’s sake. Recruitment and HR leaders need to focus on driving outcomes and then working out where AI fits within this framework.”

You can read more about the study here.