AI Recruiting Tools risk Excluding Individuals with Impairments orries Expert

Artificial intelligence-powered recruitment tools could discriminate against eligible candidates with disabilities by evaluating their eye contact, body language and speech patterns against traditional criteria.

During the World Economic Forum’s “Fair by Design” panel discussion, Sara Minkara, founder and CEO of Sara Minkara, LLC and former US Special Advisor on International Disability Rights, said artificial intelligence systems risk perpetuating existing workplace discrimination unless accessibility and disability inclusion are built in from the start.

The problem is not only about technology, but also about the long-held societal beliefs of persons with impairments, Minkara said. “People with disabilities are often seen through the lens of charity or vulnerability, rather than the lens of professional expertise, leadership potential and economic contributions,” she said.

They can shape the design of recruitment systems and the way employers assess candidates,” she said. Minkara encouraged thinking about disability inclusion at every step of the design, deployment, testing, and monitoring of artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

She also warned that businesses evaluating AI for bias tend to look at gender and race and neglect disability. Minkara claimed research into 410 self-selected organisations showed that only 30 per cent said they had one or more top executives with a disability. At the same time, only 6 per cent said they had someone with a handicap on their corporate board.

More representation of disability in senior management and boardrooms will help ensure that investment decisions, workplace rules, and technology development reflect a wider range of perspectives, she said.

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