Artificial intelligence (AI) has proven beneficial in many industries and applications. Interestingly, if applied properly, AI has the potential to help bridge the diversity gap in information technology by assisting with the recruitment process. Information Week brought this news to us in their article, “Can Artificial Intelligence Help Increase Diversity in IT?”
Technology companies have a history of surpassing the national average when hiring Asian Americans, but unfortunately the employment of African Americans and Latinos in tech is half the rate of all other professions. Also lagging behind in representation are women in information technology roles.
There is no shortage of theories as to why these gaps persist, but maybe it is time we look to technology to fix technology. Is it time to look at AI to eradicate bias from our hiring process?
One tech giant, Amazon, tried this with lackluster results. Their recruiting tool developed a learned gender bias, boosting male applicants over females. A model is only as good as its data.
AI is already commonly found in Human Resources. However, we have to realize that AI is designed by humans and trained using historical data. If not governed appropriately, AI will simply perpetuate long held biases that already exist throughout the organization.
