Three makeup artists at MAC Cosmetics lost their jobs after failing video interviews assessed by HireVue's AI algorithm, which analyzed their facial expressions and speech content, leading to an out-of-court settlement with Estée Lauder.
Three makeup artists working for MAC Cosmetics, a subsidiary of Estée Lauder, were informed they needed to reapply for their positions during redundancies. As part of the reapplication process, they underwent video interviews conducted through HireVue, a recruitment technology company. The HireVue system used AI algorithms to assess both the content of their answers and their facial expressions, analyzing what the company described as '15,000 data points.' The women were asked questions about makeup techniques, such as how to create a smokey eye, but were required to describe rather than demonstrate the processes. All three women failed the AI assessment and lost their jobs, despite having strong performance records. When they requested explanations for their failures, they received only generic responses about algorithms and artificial intelligence. The women felt this was unjust and pursued legal action, ultimately reaching an out-of-court settlement with Estée Lauder. HireVue has since discontinued its visual video analysis component, stating its value was minimal. Estée Lauder maintained that facial recognition accounted for only 0.25% of the overall assessment and that the process was fair when combined with human decision-making.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Unequal treatment of individuals or groups by AI, often based on race, gender, or other sensitive characteristics, resulting in unfair outcomes and unfair representation of those groups.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed