Media article – Warning job applicants with disabilities may miss out if artificial intelligence used to hire

Stuff article by Melanie Carroll
Aug 04 2021

New Zealand employers are crying out for skilled workers but may be ruling out potential talent without realising it.

Many large organisations use algorithms to assess performance in job interviews and about 40 per cent use artificial intelligence (AI) when screening potential candidates, according to a global report by business consultancy Accenture.

But algorithms are only as good as the people programming them and there were concerns about inbuilt discrimination against job applicants with disabilities, said Jonathan Mosen​, chief executive of Workbridge.

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“But if you have got artificial intelligence that is programmed by people who are making assumptions about certain criteria, like speed or the tone of someone’s voice or anything like that, then you may inadvertently be screening out a really capable candidate.”

Read the full story here.