AI-based video interviewing software such as those made by HireVue are being used by companies for the first time in job interviews in the UK to shortlist the best job applicants.
HireVue’s “AI-driven assessments,” which more than 100 employers have used on over one million job candidates, use video interviews to analyse hundreds of thousands of data points related to a person’s speaking voice, word selection and facial movements. The system then creates a computer-generated estimate of the candidates’ skills and behaviours and potential fit for the job. Employers employers can use those automated generated reports to decide whom to hire or disregard. However, candidates are not told their scores or method of evaluation.
This turns HireVue’s algorithm into a “black-box” making it impossible for job candidates to know how their personal data is being used or to consent to such uses. Given that HireVue works with large employers, their AI recruitment system is becoming a powerful gatekeeper for some of the most prominent employers, reshaping how companies assess their workforce — and how prospective employees prove their worth. HireVue’s business practices are now under investigation in the US for its use of unproven artificial intelligence systems. The complaint filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center could for the first time throw a spotlight on a growing industry of tech firms that advertise automated systems they say can assess candidates’ CVs.