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Can bots discriminate? It's a big question as companies use AI for hiring
webRelevant to AI governance and deployment discussions; illustrates real-world regulatory responses to biased AI systems in high-stakes employment contexts, serving as a case study in near-term AI harms and policy intervention.
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Summary
NPR reports on the EEOC's January 2023 hearing examining how AI-based hiring tools—including resume scanners, chatbots, and video interview analyzers—may perpetuate employment discrimination. With 83% of employers and 99% of Fortune 500 companies using automated hiring tools, the EEOC is considering regulatory guardrails to address civil rights risks posed by these systems.
Key Points
- •83% of employers and 99% of Fortune 500 companies use some form of automated or AI-driven hiring tool.
- •EEOC held a hearing titled 'Navigating Employment Discrimination in AI and Automated Systems: A New Civil Rights Frontier' in January 2023.
- •AI hiring tools such as resume scanners, virtual assistants, and video interview evaluators have documented shortcomings including discriminatory bias.
- •EEOC chair Charlotte Burrows warned the stakes are too high to leave the issue solely to technical experts, calling for broad public input.
- •The agency previously issued guidance on AI hiring tools under the Americans with Disabilities Act, signaling active regulatory attention.
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| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| AI-Driven Institutional Decision Capture | Risk | 73.0 |
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**Companies are turning to AI for hiring. That could lead to discrimination** **The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says artificial intelligence-based hiring tools may be creating discriminatory barriers to jobs. The agency is asking for input as it considers guardrails.**
### [Business](https://www.npr.org/sections/business/)
# Can bots discriminate? It's a big question as companies use AI for hiring
January 31, 20235:27 PM ET
[](https://www.npr.org/people/536432406/andrea-hsu)
[Andrea Hsu](https://www.npr.org/people/536432406/andrea-hsu)
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The EEOC is turning its attention to the use of AI and other advanced technologies in hiring.
**Carol Yepes/Getty Images** **hide caption**
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Carol Yepes/Getty Images
The EEOC is turning its attention to the use of AI and other advanced technologies in hiring.
Carol Yepes/Getty Images
AI may be the hiring tool of the future, but it could come with the old relics of discrimination.
With almost all big employers in the United States now using artificial intelligence and automation in their hiring processes, the agency that enforces federal anti-discrimination laws is considering some urgent questions:
How can you prevent discrimination in hiring when the discrimination is being perpetuated by a machine? What kind of guardrails might help?
Some 83% of employers, including 99% of Fortune 500 companies, now use some form of automated tool as part of their hiring process, said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's chair Charlotte Burrows at [a hearing on Tuesday](https://www.eeoc.gov/meetings/meeting-january-31-2023-navigating-employment-discrimination-ai-and-automated-systems-new) titled "Navigating Employment Discrimination in AI and Automated Systems: A New Civil Rights Frontier," part of a larger agency initiative examining how technology is used to recruit and hire people.
[](https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2023/01/17/1149206188/this-22-year-old-is
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