Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how organizations hire talent. Today, AI is not just a tool but a partner that supports and enhances human decision-making across all six distinct phases of the hiring process, from receiving applications to extending job offers (see Figure 1).
The Research
I collaborated with Drs. Ning-Kuang Chuang and Yung-Kuei Huang to assess Generative AI’s (GenAI) impacts throughout the hiring process using the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) AI Principles for trustworthy AI. We published our work in the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, addressing four guiding questions:
RQ1. What revolutionary changes does GenAI bring into the hiring process?
RQ2. What ethical concerns arise when aligning GenAI hiring practices with the OECD AI Principles?
RQ3. How can the two hospitality and tourism (H&T) stakeholders – H&T firms and their managers, as well as job seekers remain competitive, relevant, and compliant with the OECD AI Principles amid these revolutionary changes?
RQ4. What new research ideas emerge because of the updates in the GenAI-assisted hiring process?
A Critical Assessment of the GenAI-assisted Hiring Process
To answer these research questions, we critically reviewed purposefully selected literature and industry reports, synthesizing our findings through both scholarly and our field-based perspectives. In this highlight, I focus on RQ1 and RQ2 to discuss how AI is revolutionizing the hiring process.
The Findings
We found that GenAI enhances hiring efficiency by automating repetitive tasks such as resume screening, scheduling interviews, and analyzing candidate data. For example, hotels and restaurants are using chatbots to support applicants, AI-powered video tools to assess interviews, and analytics systems to help HR managers make faster, data-driven decisions.
However, the same technology that improves efficiency also introduces new risks. Without human oversight, AI can also perpetuate bias, lack transparency, and compromise data privacy. By analyzing these developments through the OECD AI Principles of fairness, accountability, and transparency, our study calls for trustworthy AI in hiring.
We advanced six propositions to summarize the current state of GenAI practices in hiring across the six hiring phases. For instance, regarding Phase 5 (Performing Background Checks) and Phase 6 (Extending a Job Offer), we concluded:
P5: GenAI can generate a narrative of a candidate, but its validity, fairness, and credibility heavily depend on the availability, accuracy, and quality of the candidate’s digital footprint. The strategic curation of a digital footprint may influence the narratives GenAI produces about a candidate and affect how the candidate is perceived in hiring processes.
P6: GenAI can help employers and job seekers prepare, review, and negotiate employment contracts. However, its usefulness may be contingent upon the system’s ability to address the historical bias and provide clear explanations.
Advice for Organizations, Hiring Managers, and Job Seekers
Reflecting on our critical assessment, we proposed a series of actionable recommendations for both organizations and job seekers to help them navigate the still-evolving GenAI-assisted hiring process. Please stay tuned for my upcoming highlights, where I emphasize the practical implications drawn from our critical analysis. We all must prepare for the changes AI will bring to the hiring process.
Now, let's reflect: How concerned do you feel as AI becomes embedded in every step of the hiring process? What can we do to promote trustworthy AI in recruitment and selection?
Note: The following picture is generated by ChatGPT.
Q: How concerned do you feel as AI becomes embedded in every step of the hiring process?
ReplyDeleteResponse: After reading this article, I thought the information presented was very interesting to learn about. While technology is constantly evolving and systems such as AI don’t appear to be disappearing anytime soon, I find myself still hesitant to fully trust this advanced technology. A major concern that I have when it comes to managers or the workplace using AI to hire employees is the lack of human interaction. I feel that this is a crucial part of the interview process that AI can not replicate. Both body language and facial expressions are aspects that I feel can either make or break an interview. These are also something most employers take into consideration when making their decisions and communicating with potential candidates during the interview process. Additionally, another concern I have is how accurate these AI systems can be. While this technology is advanced and can be used in a variety of ways, the information it provides might not be accurate or conveyed/interpreted in the way that the person being hired wants. Overall, while I do find AI to be a fascinating piece of technology, I do have many doubts when it comes to being used or integrated in a workplace.
I feel that after reading the article it’s important to do extra research and extract the knowledge from that. It’s important to understand that it increases speed as interviews and it can go faster. One thing it removes unwanted distractions such as being biased and doesn’t target anyone by color or race or even looks. However the downside of this is that human touch is loss which means they can’t tell from genuine or fake. Human beings should make the final call as they can be transparent and feel different emotions such as empathy, caring and can communicate wisely.
DeleteDhara Patel
Q: How concerned do you feel as AI becomes embedded in every step of the hiring process? What can we do to promote trustworthy AI in recruitment and selection?
ReplyDeleteResponse: AI becoming embedded into the workforce is something that fascinates me. I find it really interesting to see how people are trying to determine the most time- and cost-effective ways to replace certain human roles. However, I do have some concerns about AI, especially in the hiring process. While it can handle simple, repetitive tasks such as background checks, it cannot replace the important role of face-to-face connection. Yes, resumes and applications should reflect who a person is, but a piece of paper does not define that applicant. Rather than fully transforming the hiring process to depend on AI, it is important to be selective about what AI should handle and what should still be managed by people.
Overall, I feel somewhat cautious but also pretty optimistic about the use of Artificial Intelligence in the hiring process. I am not really fearful, but I am very aware of possible risks using Artificial Intelligence like potential bias, lack of transparency, and the loss of the human touch. In order to promote Artificial Intelligence, we should strive for better transparency, more human oversight, less bias answers, better privacy protections, and better recruiter training. Artificial Intelligence can really strengthen the recruitment process to make it more streamline however it can only do this when it is used responsibly and centered around the people instead of the company it represents.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post to read. AI is being used in almost every part of hiring now, and honestly it makes me feel a little uneasy. I understand why companies like it because it helps speed things up and organizes tons of applications, but the idea of AI judging people based on their digital footprint feels kind of risky. Not everyone has the same online presence, and that can easily create unfair impressions. I think AI can be useful, but only if humans stay involved and make sure the decisions are actually fair and not just based on algorithms.
ReplyDeleteQuestion:
Do you think we’ll ever find a good balance between AI doing the work and humans keeping things fair?
— Kalea Harper
This was a very interesting post to read. I was particiluarly interested in learning more about AI as it relates to the job market since hearing about it from class. I had known that AI's expansion was leaning into the job market and that the use of AI is growing in the hiring process, particularly when looking at resumes, but from this, I also learned that it assesses interviews. Personally I am concerned with the use of AI as it becomes embedded in the hiring process. I think that it will help people get jobs faster and companies to get the workers they're looking for faster, however, as AI grows, it will continue to be used and added in the job market. This may eliminate any sort of human interaction that may be had before being hired and I foresee issues both on the companies end and the individuals looking to be hired. I believe this could lead to a disconnect in who gets that role in the future.
ReplyDeleteHalo Hubbard
Although some might view the integration of AI into the hiring process from start to finish dystopian, I believe that as technology is evolving it is important for industries to adapt to the new changes in order to succeed. After hearing multiple guest lectures from alumni of the college they mention that real people will only look at a resume for 10 or 15 seconds before moving on, AI has the promise of giving every applicant a fair shot at getting the position. But humans should still be involved in the hiring process and not delegate the process to AI because AI is still changing. In the end, AI should not be making all the decisions but acting as a tool, this way a balance can be achieved between AI and humans.
ReplyDelete- Wilson Chen
I think that while AI certainly does have a lot of potential to the hiring process such, I am weary about the long-term changes that will result with its increased use. AI has the ability to make the process run a lot quicker by automating the repetitive tasks, but the lack of human interaction and touch is definitely concerning. There are a lot of issues regarding the potential biases that may occur, and the idea of using AI to look through a candidate's digital footprint is concerning. I also fear that the increased use of AI in recruiting from companies will just cause candidates to use AI to apply for jobs and create their resumes and cover letters for them, resulting in the entire job recruitment process being disingenuous. Overall, while I can see the potential for good with AI implementation, I have a lot of concerns and think it should be carefully and slowly integrated.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very informative article as it details how AI can benefit the hiring process. I found it interesting how AI can offer many benefits however there are just as many caveats. Some benefits such as being able to help expedite the screening process, choose the applicant, scan through an applicant's data. The caveats being that the AI can't exactly differentiate with nuance is an very glaring oversight that is fortunately mitigated with the use of human intervention. I like that there are failsafes that involve human input which provides more relief as far as AI screening goes. The main question I have for technology like this is how are the human components going to be trained to oversee this and how is the AI going to be trained to overcome their limitations? - Benjamin Liu
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