It seems like talent acquisition has been flooded overnight with recruiting software, tools, and products boasting about their artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. But take a closer look, and you might find that despite the AI hype, many of these platforms offer the same old same old experience. This phenomenon has been coined as “AI washing” – a practice where products are marketed as AI-powered when their actual AI capabilities are either limited or exaggerated.
Let me share a firsthand experience from a company I once worked for. Our Talent Acquisition (TA) leadership decided to invest in a pricey, long-term contract with a recruiting platform that boasted about its “AI” capabilities. The promise was enticing – the salesperson claimed their product provided exact matches for candidates as soon as a resume was viewed, and it even pledged to match candidates to specific jobs. However, the AI features fell short of expectations when put to the test. Candidate matching was subpar, leading to disappointment in our team. Within a week, recruiters had stopped using it. Although they claimed “AI was running in the background,” their poorly written resume-matching algorithms were the reasons why recruiting and sourcing teams rarely logged in after that.
Fast forward to 2024, and I’m still hearing similar tales of AI promises not living up to reality. This trend has been aptly dubbed AI washing, which is a marketing tactic where companies exaggerate or misrepresent the amount of AI technology used in their products or services. The broad and flexible definition of AI allows companies to stretch the meaning and associate their products with AI, even if the use of AI is minimal or non-existent.
Elliott Masie, the founder of the MASIE Learning Foundation, has issued a cautionary note about AI washing in the realm of HR and recruiting tech. He advises HR tech buyers to be discerning when bombarded with sales pitches solely centered on AI features. Masie rightly emphasizes the importance of focusing on a product’s actual functionality rather than being swayed by the mere mention of AI. He predicts that as AI becomes more ubiquitous, the true value of a tech solution lies in its inherent merits, not just its AI integration.
At ERE, we’re committed to cutting through the AI hype. Our approach goes beyond mere buzzwords, fostering a community of TA professionals who prioritize understanding their tools’ real capabilities and functionalities. Join us at the ERE Conference, where we delve deep into the world of AI and recruitment technology, enabling you to make informed decisions based on substance, not just hype. And, of course, we’ll make you aware of AI Washing!
Not everything is going to be automated when everything gets automated with AI.
AI can be a useful tool; however, in this article, the recruiting process still requires a personal touch. The writer cautions against over-automating the hiring process with AI and emphasizes the importance of keeping the human element in talent acquisition practices. Here are the key points:
Feeling stressed out? It’s National Stress Awareness Month, and one of the constant stressors in employees’ lives is AI. According to a recent Gallup poll, 22% of U.S. workers are worried they’ll lose their jobs to generative AI—a 7% increase since 2021.
Epignosis, a global learning and development company, can help alleviate stress and help prepare employees for AI by providing some training. Here are some sessions:
People are more afraid of divorce than RTO! Whaaaat? Evidently, employees dread the Return-to-Office (RTO) mandates more than climate change.
LiveCareer recently surveyed nearly 4,000 U.S. workers to discover their deep-rooted fears of returning to the office. The survey found that almost half (43%) are more afraid of RTO than getting divorced. Additionally, 53% fear in-office work more than climate change.
LiveCareer’s Fear & Remote Work survey also found that:
The survey found that 7 out of 10 workers want to work remotely 100% of the time due to better mental health, job satisfaction, and productivity.
Glassdoor’s recent changes have exposed the names of people who wanted to remain anonymous.
Glassdoor.com, a website where employees can leave anonymous reviews of their employers, has recently started adding users’ real names to their profiles without their consent.
A Glassdoor user named Monica discovered this change when she contacted the company’s support to request that information be removed from her account. Instead, Glassdoor added her real name to her profile, even though she had not previously provided it.
Glassdoor’s new policy of collecting and verifying users’ real names has triggered concerns among privacy experts and users. The anonymity of Glassdoor reviews was a key feature that allowed employees to provide candid feedback without fear of retaliation from their employers.
Now, if Glassdoor’s data is ever subpoenaed or leaked, it would be much easier for employers to identify and potentially retaliate against employees who left negative reviews. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has previously defended Glassdoor users from being unmasked by employers.
Users are being urged to delete their Glassdoor accounts and data, as the only way to remove one’s real name from the platform is to delete the entire account, which does not guarantee the removal of past reviews. Glassdoor has stated that users can still post anonymously, but the company’s new policies have undermined the trust in its ability to protect user privacy.
Despite the layoffs, the overall number of job cuts in 2024 so far is down compared to the same period in 2023.
Employers in the U.S. announced 90,309 job cuts in March, a 7% increase from February and the highest monthly total since January 2023, when 102,943 cuts were announced.
Companies are cutting jobs due to store closures, bankruptcies, organizational restructuring, or general cost-cutting. The cuts suggest that “many companies appear to be reverting to a ‘do more with less’ approach.
Indeed, the new AI-powered features aim to better compete with rivals like LinkedIn, Talent.com, and ZipRecruiter.
Learn more about these new AI features at (TechCrunch)
That is a wrap for this week’s recruiting news. We hope to see everyone at the ERE Recruiting Conference in Austin, Texas, May 14 – 16.
Please contact us here if you want to let us know about any breaking news.
