How IBM’s Watson is taking the hiring bias out of interviews

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the most promising digital impacts set to transform various models in the talent economy. While it offers an unbiased system to attract and develop the right talent, many corporate bodies are yet to give the technology a chance to offer its promised solution in hiring, including some giant multinationals. IBM is stepping up its commitment to assist organizations in deploying this trending HR tool towards talent management and hiring structure advancement.

The computer manufacturing company last week announced the launch of IBM Watson Recruitment’s Adverse Impact Analysis capability – an AI tool that identifies instances of bias associated with education, race, gender, age, or previous employer by analyzing the historical hiring data of the organization and underscoring potential unconscious biases. These features empower human resource professionals to select the most promising candidate based on their skills and experience and to recognize and avoid any existing bias in its hiring trends.

HR professionals will benefit so much from AI. A recent IBM study involving 2,100 Chief Human Resource Officers found that 33% of CHROs believe AI will in a few years revolutionize the way they do business. The study also found that AI will not take over human employees or hijack HR roles – the skills of people will strongly affect businesses over the next several years, said 65% of the CEOs surveyed.

Hiring managers spend an average of 6 seconds on a candidate’s resume, whereas they receive hundreds of applications daily for certain positions, IBM found. Hence, there are constraints in making strong decisions with AI and analytics. This can also encourage unconscious bias in hiring, said IBM.

According to IBM’s press release, it believes the tool will put HR leaders and CHROs at the vanguard of creating a better workforce in the future. “We see that workforce as highly personalized at the employee level, highly collaborative across the enterprise, and one that draws on a vast and diverse range of expertise and experience without bias,” the release said.

IBM disclosed that its goal is to ensure that organizations depend on job candidates’ ability during the selection process. H&R Block and BuzzFeed are among IBM’s clients effectively using AI in attracting and hiring candidates who are likely to succeed in their respective roles, said IBM.

An organization can be convinced that the selected job applicant was the best for the given role if they use AI trained with unbiased data. It results in a more productive workplace which is more diverse, promotes a bias-free environment and foster fresh perspectives, the release said.

Unconscious bias in hiring is a serious challenge HR professionals are currently facing, which has resulted in mostly gender skewing and age discrimination in talent management. IBM Watson Recruitment’s Adverse Impact Analysis tool could provide a path to unlock a bias-free system and significantly reduce the workload of CHROs.

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