Public Agencies Are Buying Up AI-Driven Hiring Tools and 'Bossware'

Through public records requests, The Markup found more than 20 public agencies using the sometimes-controversial software. From the report: In 2020, the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) faced a daunting task: It needed to fill more than 900 job vacancies -- and fast. The center, which does things like inspect pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, was in the process of modernizing the FDA's New Drugs Regulatory Program just as the pandemic started. It faced "a surge in work," along with new constraints that have affected everyone during the pandemic, including travel limitations and lockdowns. So they decided to turn to an artificial intelligence tool to speed up the hiring, according to records obtained by The Markup. The center, along with the Office of Management and the Division of Management Services, the background section of a statement of work said, were developing a "recruitment plan to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in the time to hire process."

The agency ultimately chose to use HireVue, an online platform that allows employers to review asynchronously recorded video interviews and have recruits play video games as part of their application process. Over the years the platform has also offered a variety of AI features to automatically score candidates. HireVue, controversially, used to offer facial analysis to predict whether an applicant would be a good fit for an open job. In recent years, research has shown that facial recognition software is racially biased. In 2019, the company's continued use of the technique led one member of its scientific advisory board to resign. It has since stopped using facial recognition. The Markup used GovSpend, a database of procurement records for U.S. agencies at the state, local, and federal levels, to identify agencies that use HireVue. We also searched for agencies using Teramind and ActivTrak, both another kind of controversial software that allows employers to remotely monitor their workers' browsing activities through screenshots and logs. The Markup contacted and filed public records requests with those 24 agencies to understand how they were using the software. Eleven public agencies, including the FDA, replied to The Markup with documents or confirmations that they had bought HireVue at some point since 2017. Of the six public agencies that replied to The Markup's questions confirming that they actually used the software, all but one -- Lake Travis Independent School District in Texas -- confirmed they did not make use of the AI scoring features of the software. Documents and responses from 13 agencies confirmed that they purchased Teramind or ActivTrak at some point during the same time frame.

Maybe it's me but...

[opps sorry my bad]

I'm sure we have things like that installed on the PCs where I work. That's why I open a remote CMD shell on my boss's machine and do a recursive wget on 4chan.org. Yeah, it's juvenile, but I get bored sometimes.

Really? for a government job?

[oldgraybeard]

"have recruits play video games as part of their application process"

didn't the army do that for some time?

[Joe_Dragon]

didn't the army do that for some time?

Re:

[Kitkoan]

They still do.

https://www.americasarmy.com/

Its on Steam and PS4.

Re: didn't the army do that for some time?

[abies]

I have been playing America's Army a lot when it started. Back then, as far as I understand, it was a recruitment tool for advertising army careers, not something used to evaluate possible candidates or to be used in actual training.
That is quite different from 'play this game if you want to pass an interview', which I think original statement was about?

recruitment tool is kind of th application process

[Joe_Dragon]

recruitment tool is kind of the application process for armed forces

Let's try it on congress

[fustakrakich]

See what all the hubbub is about...

just play stuff the ballot box

[Joe_Dragon]

just play stuff the ballot box

Re:

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

just play stuff the ballot box

just play suppress the voters
just play close polling places
just play gerrymander everywhere
just play insist the election was stolen...

You mean like that?

Is There a Shortage?

[Kunedog]

Buying Up?

Like, depleting the supply until there aren't enough copies for everyone else?

Re:

[Kitkoan]

NFT?

Artificial Intelligence vs Natural Stupidity

[aberglas]

People are quick to show how stupid these AI tools can be. But human recruiters can be worse. And at least the machines are consistent.

A classic was AIs marking English exams. Of course, it was possible to write garbage that the AI system liked. But when tested on real papers, it did a better job than underpaid, overworked, or lazy human markers.

Further, if you are clever enough to game the system than you probably deserve the job.

Artificial Intelligence

[Retired ICS]

THey are most likely using Artifical Intelligence to compensate for their lack of Natural Intelligence.

Re:

[serviscope_minor]

Sometimes I think that anyone who doubts the AI revolution severely overestimates the intelligence of ass clowns like these.

We Care About Employees, Ask Our Machines

[theshowmecanuck]

Not exactly a great endorsement on how companies see working relationships with their employees. Damn, I forgot. They're not people, they're resources.

The problem is gaming the system

[joe_frisch]

Its possible that an automated AI like system could be as effective as a human at screening job applicants - until the applicants learn about it. Then there is an arms race as people try to say, and put on their resumes what they think the AI wants, and then the AI design needs to evolve. Applicants (who may be excellent) who don't play the game don't get hired. The best game players do - which is OK in some jobs but not most.

As far as monitoring employees - its also very difficult to come up with anything like an accurate metric, for how much work someone is doing , expect for the most menial jobs.

Re:The problem is gaming the system

[Visarga]

"Applicants (who may be excellent) who don't play the game" ... Competition would monetize on those lost opportunities right away. There's more than one recruiting firm.

Re:

[joe_frisch]

Yes, and more than one training firm. I worry about creating an entire ecosystem of recruiting and training firms each trying to outthink the other, and the candidate's actual ability to do their job getting lost in the noise.

Tell me you're racist without saying you're racist

[TheNameOfNick]

"Our hiring decisions are AI-driven."

Re:

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Why do you assume that Al is a racist? What if he's a pretty swell guy?

Re:

[joe_frisch]

This is a huge problem. Machine learning algorithms will pick up any bias in the training data, and over time are likely to amplify that bias. (sort of like humans, but unlike humans, unable to understand that its a problem )

Software to make any job easier

[SciCom Luke]

At every job level there is software to make the work easier.
Software to make sure than more work can be done more efficiently.

Why not also at management level?

Just as always when experimenting with new software, the first choice might not always be the best one.

Is that bad? No, it is unfortunate, but it is a learning track.
This happens at every level, so also, why not at director level?

Avoid the Whole Problem

[Petersko]

Network appropriately. Be visible.

Unless, of course, you've left a trail of crappy work in your wake, "who you know" is far more valuable than any resume.

After 22 years with the same company, I took a voluntary exit package and took a year off. Then I began my search. On paper, I'm rejected by every automated engine there is. No degree, no top-level certiciations... but an ocean of widely varied experience. My applications vanished into the ether without a sound.

After a couple of months, I began to reach ou