Candidates should beware of unreliable HR screening, says DeepMind
Alphabet Inc.’s Google markets its artificial intelligence tools to corporate clients as a means to efficiently navigate a vast array of job applications in order to identify the most promising candidates. Some of its own AI researchers are hesitant to depend on these tools for recruitment purposes. Google DeepMind’s AGI Safety and Alignment Team, which aims to address the potential hazards associated with advanced AI, is advising job applicants for its available positions to complete a specific form in conjunction with their application. This measure is intended to reduce the likelihood that their submissions may be inadvertently filtered out by the company’s internal AI systems, as indicated in a document, which included the cautionary note “PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THIS DOC WIDELY.”
“We have an applications system with a non-trivial probability your CV will be screened out incorrectly or take too long to reach us,” the document states. “Filling out this form makes sure that a real human on the team will get to see your application.” A spokesperson for Google DeepMind stated that the company is focused on “recruiting and hiring the most qualified talent at Google DeepMind” and refuted claims that the company’s systems erroneously filter out applicants. “This team set up a special form to go past the recruiter review, and get their resumes direct to the people on the team. But there are no shortcuts to getting hired,” the spokesperson added. AI has swiftly integrated into the hiring process, leading to concerns among some HR teams regarding potential job displacement. However, the manner in which AI is utilised can often be unclear. Some companies utilise AI models to assess and rank applicants, whereas others employ keyword filtering techniques for resumes.
Google’s Workspace team, which offers widely used products like Google Drive to enterprises, promotes the company’s latest AI capabilities as a means to “save HR time by quickly creating drafts for job postings, evaluating resumes, and forecasting hiring needs.” AI hiring systems have faced criticism for their potential to discriminate against candidates. An investigation found that OpenAI’s ChatGPT showed signs of potential bias based on applicants’ names. Workday Inc., a provider of workplace management software, is currently embroiled in a lawsuit that claims its AI hiring systems discriminate against applicants based on race, age, and disability, allegedly in contravention of legal standards.
Workday has refuted the allegations, asserting that hiring decisions are made by humans. The company did not provide a response to a further request for comment. Meanwhile, certain job candidates are leveraging AI to optimise their chances by navigating the filters effectively or rapidly generating applications at an unprecedented pace. The Google DeepMind team was vigilant regarding this possibility, advising candidates that their applications would be more robust without the assistance of AI. The form designed to circumvent automated screening includes an advisory: “A real human will read these. These humans get really tired of reading LLM answers, because they all sound very samey.”
