3rd November 2023
Recruitment solutions have entered the realm of high technology, with AI-powered tools revolutionizing the hiring process. However, here’s the catch – the individuals who frequently use these AI products and services often have no input into their design, development, or testing. This is where the EU-funded BIAS Project comes into play. It is disrupting the recruitment industry by placing stakeholders at the forefront of creating a fair and unbiased AI-powered recruitment solution. Let’s delve into this exciting journey thus far.
Two co-creation workshops, hosted by Digiotouch, brought together a diverse group of participants, including HR managers, AI experts, lawyers, workers, civil society representatives, and NGOs. Their aim was to brainstorm how to debias such AI-powered solutions. Soumya Kanti Datta, the CEO of Digiotouch, led these workshops, which evolved into a melting pot of groundbreaking discussions and ideas.
Chapter 1: The Beginning
Imagine a sunny afternoon in Tallinn with a clear blue sky and gentle winds. In June 2023, Estonian stakeholders gathered at the Mercure Tallinn Hotel on such a beautiful, early summer day. Debolina Paul and Ivana Todorovic took the stage during the first workshop, showcasing their tech-savviness. After Soumya’s introduction to the BIAS project, a panel discussion ensued about AI in recruitment and HR management. The consensus? AI is like having an extra set of hands when you’re faced with a mountain of CVs to sift through. However, it’s essential not to become too complacent with AI because it can inherit biases from its training data, leading to potentially awkward situations.
One of the key takeaways was the need to make AI-powered recruitment fair, transparent, equal, diverse, and inclusive (EDI). In the second part of the workshop, participants worked in groups with a fictitious job scenario and job applicants. Each group assumed the persona of a specific job applicant and composed a cover letter. The HR manager of each group then analyzed the cover letter, identifying words and phrases that could lead to biased inferences. Participants then collaboratively crafted improved cover letters. Ultimately, this workshop led to the identification of word lists and attributes that can introduce bias into the recruitment process.
Watch the recap of the first workshop:
Chapter 2: The sequel
Fast forward to September 2023, and workshop number two was even more diverse and exciting. This time, the topic was fairness in recruitment processes and the requirements for a Debiaser tool, aka the BIAS proof-of-concept technology. While Soumya set the stage again, it was Anett Numa who dove into the deep end, discussing fairness in AI-powered recruitment.
During the discussion, the participants brought out that the main challenge with using AI in recruiting, especially regarding discrimination, is that AI systems can learn biases from past data. But fear not, there’s hope! By training AI systems with fair and diverse data and using methods to detect and fix biases, we can level the playing field in hiring.
Ivana’s session may have thrown around some AI jargon, but everyone got on board with requirements for the debiaser tool, even the non-techies. HR managers, AI experts, workers, lawyers, and civil society reps all had a blast. Her session concluded with identifying conditions for fairness and trustworthiness evaluation.
Watch the recap of the second workshop:
Chapter 3: Grand finale and a Gondola ride
But wait, there’s more! Two superstars from the Estonian workshops, Kadi Niggulis and Tea Kookmaa, along with Anett and Soumya, will jet off to Venice for the third and final co-creation workshop in December 2023. This international workshop will bring together national delegations from all partner countries of the BIAS project. It’s like the Avengers assembling to save the day! Team Estonia will represent HR managers, legal aspects, advocacy organizations, and AI experts, ensuring that the debiaser tool is as fair, accountable, and trustworthy as possible.
On a serious note
So there you have it, folks! With stakeholders taking the lead in shaping the future of AI-powered recruitment, we’re in for a tech-savvy, bias-free hiring revolution. We are excited to continue developing this tool ensuring fairness, accountability, and trustworthiness. Stay tuned for more insights and tech wisdom as we continue this exciting journey!
