The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in recruitment is growing, with around a third of Australian companies using it in some form. The technology is praised for being able to reduce bias in the initial screening process, but critics argue that AI can also reinforce and even amplify pre-existing biases. There are concerns that AI-based recruitment tools may assess candidates on something other than merit, raise ethical and legal concerns about transparency and data bias, produce biased results, or cause “statistical bias” by erroneously interpreting socioeconomic markers as indicative of success. Additionally, AI may struggle to deal with non-native speakers or people with disabilities. Despite these concerns, AI recruitment tools can be useful in automating costly and time-consuming recruitment processes, especially for non-managerial roles.
