Welcome to Fairness Tales

Programmed Prejudices: Navigating AI Bias in Recruitment

AuthorAuthor

John Sandall & Sophie Carr
August 15, 2024

👋 Welcome to Fairness Tales, a newsletter from Coefficient and Bays Consulting. Here, we provide practical tips and expert insights to uncover hidden biases in AI recruitment tools, helping developers, executives, and policymakers promote fairer AI systems.

Our vision of equity and inclusivity is grounded in three core principles:

  • 🌟 Championing Diversity: Measuring and mitigating algorithmic bias to foster a fair and inclusive hiring environment.

  • 🔬 Transparency in Technology: Shedding light on AI’s “black box” to build trust for both employers and candidates.

  • 📊 Setting Industry Benchmarks: Promoting accountability in AI-powered tools through standardised auditing.

📆 Join us in person at our first meetup! Tue 20th August 2024, 7pm, Newspeak House (near Shoreditch High Street in London). See the event page for full event details and sign-up information.

This project is not just about providing a technological solution; it's about fostering an equitable recruitment environment that champions diversity and fairness. With studies like 86% of companies incorporating virtual interviews and AI into their hiring processes5, it is imperative that we lead by example. Our endeavour is to ensure AI tools support unbiased decision making, and to develop a solution that promotes growth and fairness in hiring.

Dr Sophie Carr, CEO of Bays Consulting

In the rapidly evolving landscape of talent acquisition, projected to reach $839.5 million by 20281, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become crucial in streamlining the hiring process. However, the deployment of Automated Tracking Systems (ATS) and CV parsers has highlighted the pressing issue of bias within these AI systems. With over 20 years of experience in data science, mathematics and AI, Coefficient and Bays Consulting are tackling this challenge head-on, aiming to become frontrunners in the field in AI ethics, hiring, and auditing.

Coefficient are building on the ideas outlined in Cathy O’Neil’s book, Weapons of Math Destruction, focusing on the intricate problem of algorithmic bias — a result of prejudiced training data that can perpetuate systemic inequalities and create feedback loops. This issue's complexity is compounded by the 'black box' nature of AI systems in recruiting software, which often lack transparency and explainability.

John Sandall, CEO of Coefficient

The EU’s AI Act classifies hiring systems as “High-Risk”2,3, and yet the UK’s Government and the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) indicate that “algorithmic auditing is currently not conducted extensively and the market for audits is relatively immature”4.

The Institute for the Future of Work highlights that many auditing tools are produced in the US and import US definitions of bias and fairness, such as the application of the 4/5th rule, which violates UK discrimination law6.

Furthermore, it’s extremely difficult to “operationalise the concept of fairness”4, as there is no single, correct definition. Auditing tools are rarely explicit about which statistical definition of bias and fairness is applied, nor the possible trade-offs or context of applying these metrics7.

Join The Dialogue For Change

⬆️ Share this newsletter with industry professionals in your network.

🗣️ Attend our virtual and in-person round table discussions. We’re running our first event on 20th August 2024, 7pm, at Newspeak House (near Shoreditch High Street in London). See the event page for full event details and sign-up information. The event is free to attend (another reason to forward this email). There will be fish, chips & refreshments provided. 🐟🍟

💬 Talk to us about your valuable perspectives and domain expertise. You can book a call with us here. We’d love to know if you’re doing work in this space!

About Bays Consulting

Bays Consulting is a data analytics and consulting firm that specialises in delivering innovative data-driven solutions and insights to businesses. Guided by the vision of “A world positively impacted by maths,” Bays leverages advanced statistical and mathematical techniques - emphasising “maths, not magic” - to assist clients in making informed decisions and solving complex challenges. The company, founded and led by Dr. Sophie Carr, is dedicated to providing top-tier services in data science, analytics, and statistics.

Bays Consulting offers a broad spectrum of services, including data analysis, predictive modelling, survey design, and statistical consulting. By closely collaborating with clients, Bays develops tailored solutions that foster growth and enhance decision-making. Committed to excellence and delivering value, Bays empowers businesses to unlock the full potential of their data, transforming it into actionable insights that drive competitive advantage. Bays has earned recognition as the ‘Analytics Company of the Year’ at the British Data Awards 2024 and has also been awarded ‘Professional Services of the Year’ and ‘Innovator of the Year’ at the Surrey Business Awards.

About Coefficient

Coefficient is a data consultancy with expertise in data science, software engineering, DevOps, machine learning and other AI-related services, as well as bespoke training & teaching courses. Their multidisciplinary consulting services serve a range of industry use cases from trading algorithms & audit automation to healthcare analytics & election prediction.

The Coefficient team includes data scientists, software engineers, statisticians, and machine learning PhDs. They are passionate about open source, open data, agile delivery and building a culture of excellence. They solve real-world problems by combining research-grade statistical techniques with a lean startup mentality. Some members are a part of the PyData London Meetup team, where they volunteer to speak at conference events and love giving back to the community.

📚 Resources

  1. Business Tech News (2023). AI Recruitment Market Growth Analysis: Key Factors and 2031 Projections. LinkedIn.

  2. Benjamin, M., Buehler, K., Dooley, R. and Zipparo, P. (2021). What the draft European Union AI regulations mean for business. McKinsey & Company.

  3. European Parliament (2023). EU AI Act: first regulation on artificial intelligence.

  4. GOV.UK (2022). Auditing algorithms: the existing landscape, role of regulators and future outlook.

  5. Gartner (2020). Gartner HR Survey Shows 86% of Organizations Are Conducting Virtual Interviews to Hire Candidates During Coronavirus Pandemic.

  6. Robin Allen (2020). “Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Algorithms and Discrimination Law: The New Frontier”. Discrimination Law in 2020, Congress House, 2020;

    Javier Sanchez-Monedero, Lina Dencik, and Lilian Edwards (2020). “What Does It Mean to Solve the Problem of Discrimination in Hiring? Social, Technical and Legal Perspectives from the UK on Automated Hiring Systems”. Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAT* ’20), Barcelona, Spain, 2020.

  7. Institute for the Future of Work (2020). “Artificial Intelligence in Hiring, Assessing Impacts on Equality”