Recent research by accounting software firm, Sage, found that a quarter of UK firms are using AI as part of their recruitment processes. Sage believes this figure will double during 2021.
In response to this trend, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published guidance on how firms should approach using AI in this way. Ben Choen at legal firm, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has outlined a summary of what this means in practice. He expands on the 6 key points discussed by the ICO:
1. Bias and discrimination are a problem in human decision-making, so it is a problem in AI decision making.
2. It is hard to build fairness into an algorithm.
3. The advancement of big data and machine learning algorithms is making it harder to detect bias and discrimination.
4. You must consider data protection law AND equalities law when developing AI systems.
5. Using solely automated decisions for private sector hiring is likely to be illegal under the GDPR.
6. Algorithms and automation can also be used to address the problems of bias and discrimination.