HireVue's AI hiring system analyzed job candidates' facial expressions, voice patterns, and speech to generate algorithmic assessments of their employability, leading to discriminatory hiring practices and privacy violations affecting over one million job seekers.
HireVue, a Utah-based recruiting technology company, developed an AI-driven assessment system that analyzed job candidates through video interviews. The system collected facial data, voice patterns, and speech from candidates answering interview questions, generating up to 500,000 data points per 30-minute assessment. The AI analyzed facial movements to determine traits like excitement and behavior predictions, with facial analysis comprising up to 29% of a candidate's score. Over 100 employers including Hilton, Unilever, Delta, and Goldman Sachs used the system to screen more than one million job candidates. The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a Federal Trade Commission complaint in 2019, arguing the system engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by using unproven facial recognition technology and secret algorithms. Critics argued the system constituted 'digital snake oil' and could discriminate against non-native speakers, nervous candidates, or those who didn't fit predetermined models. Following public outcry and regulatory pressure, HireVue discontinued its facial expression analysis feature in 2020, though it continued using voice and speech analysis. The system lacked transparency, with candidates unable to see their scores or understand how assessments were made.
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