Skip to main content

Human Resources & Artificial Technology: For Amazon, At Least, That Idea Might Be On Hold


Those in the Human Resources field might have taken note of an article I posted earlier this month about how artificial intelligence ("AI") has become more prevalent in the Human Resources field.  That article noted that some employers have started to use AI to help screen applicants for positions, sort resumes, and identify "ideal" candidates for the employer to consider.  Apparently, utilizing AI in these Human Resources roles has streamlined the hiring process for many employers and cut back on the oftentimes prolonged delay that come with hiring a new employee.

For those in the Human Resources field that might have been starting to sweat the long term viability of their positions (with AI appearing to be on the cusp of taking some Human Resources positions), it appears that can wait, at least for some at Amazon.  It was announced last week that Amazon had previously scrapped an AI program that was created to review job applicants' resumes.  That program was trained to vet applicants based on patters in resumes submitted to the company over a ten year period.  Sound good?  Sure.  The problem?  Most of those resumes over the ten year period came from men...which means the AI program was in effect trained to identify male applicants' resumes and favor those over females.  The program apparently penalized resumes that included the word "women's" and downgraded graduates of two all women's colleges.  Although Amazon tweaked the program to make them neutral in regard to those particular terms, it became apparent that there was no guarantee that the machines would not find another way to sort candidates in a different, discriminatory manner.

While Amazon stated that the program "was never used by Amazon recruiters to evaluate candidates", no further elaboration was given.  Of course the apparent discriminatory bias of this AI program does not spell the end for the continued implementation of technology in the workplace, including Human Resources.  With many in the Human Resources field expecting AI to become a regular part of their work within the coming years, this new from Amazon, if anything, is merely a brief stop and a bit of bad press as AI becomes more of a day to day component for many in the workforce.


For additional information:  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-jobs-automation-insight/amazon-scraps-secret-ai-recruiting-tool-that-showed-bias-against-women-idUSKCN1MK08G

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike

A few months ago, readers might remember that I pointed out that the New Jersey Legislature had voted to approve a minimum wage hike in the state .  Under the approved legislation, the minimum wage rate would rise to $10.10/hour in the next year and at least $15/hour over the next five.  (The current minimum wage rate in the state is $8.38/hour).  In that article, I had noted that the bill was then going to go before Governor Chris Christie for his approval or veto. As I had suggested previously, I thought that the Governor would likely veto the bill based upon his prior actions and comments on similar legislation.  Well, a few days ago, Governor Christie did just that and vetoed the bill on the grounds that it "would trigger an escalation of wages that will make doing business in New Jersey unfathomable."  Pointing to the increase in hourly minimum wage rates, the Governor referred to the bill as a "really radical increase."  (It is interesting to c...
Post a Comment
Read more