The new year brought some major changes to the state of Illinois, which will undoubtedly impact the workplace. When it comes to using AI solutions to vet job candidates, employers will first need to inform candidates that the technology is being used, thanks to enactment of the Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act.
The new law is designed to regulate organizations’ use of AI technology for the interview and hiring process. It stipulates that employers that record video interviews and then use AI technology to analyze applicants must inform applicants beforehand that the technology may be used to evaluate them. Furthermore, employers are required to provide applicants with a full written explanation of how the technology works, including which traits will be reviewed and analyzed. Details about the characteristics of the AI program being used must also be disclosed, and employers are also required to obtain applicants’ prior consent before evaluating them using AI technologies.
The law was enacted during a critical time in the evolution of AI technologies for the hiring process and beyond. Some of the biggest companies in the world, including Tesla, Accenture and LinkedIn, are using AI to vet candidates and reduce the time and resources traditionally associated with the hiring process. The aforementioned companies are using the Pymetrics AI platform, a blend of data science and I/O psychology that creates a “people recommendation engine.” The offering presents job applicants with a 30-minute process during which they must solve puzzles and quizzes, the results of which are parsed by AI to measure their problem-solving skills along with other parameters.
And companies including Delta, Hilton, IKEA and Urban Outfitters are using HireVue’s AI platform, which combines face scanning with AI-driven assessments to rate and rank candidates. In this case, the platform requires video of candidates and then AI is used to analyze facial movements, word choices and even speaking tones.
The new Illinois law stipulates that employers that conduct these types of interviews may not distribute them to other parties, except as necessary to evaluate a candidate’s “fitness” for a certain position. And employers will have 30 days to destroy all copies of the video interview if the applicant requests it.
Illinois lawmakers aren’t the only ones with privacy and security concerns related to the use of AI in the hiring process, and last year The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed an official complaint asking the FTC to investigate HireVue’s business practices. The technology watchdog group argues that HireVue’s system employs unfair and deceptive trade practices to assess job candidates, which represents a wide-scale threat to U.S. workers.
The new Illinois law may very well serve as a benchmark for US employers’ use of AI in the hiring process moving forward. At a minimum, companies that employ the technology should carefully examine their security and privacy parameters to ensure they are in compliance and to prevent unauthorized access to hiring data by nefarious third parties.
For more discussion and information about how AI will impact the workplace of the future as well as HR and hiring processes, TMC is hosting a Future of Work Expo in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The event, which will take place from February 12-14, 2020, will explore how AI and machine learning technologies are being used for customer service, communications and beyond throughout a host of vertical markets.
Edited by
Maurice Nagle
