The last black box:
An open letter to CEOs on AI

Barb Hyman here. I’m the CEO and founder of Sapia.ai, and I’d love to chat with you about AI.

For now, there’ll be no fancy images or marketing taglines.

What we’re talking about is very serious.

I understand that AI is a scary and risky proposition. It’s scary and risky because you care. You want the best for your candidates and your employees.

It’s easy to think that AI will get in the way of that goal, or that AI might expose you to some kind of commercial catastrophe.

I get it.

You’re probably also worried about the opportunity cost of not adopting AI. Will you look bad in front of the board? Miss a massive chance at success? Be replaced?

I get that too, believe me.

Why is AI so hard? It’s because humans are amazing.

We’re amazing for many reasons. Particularly because we use mental shortcuts to simplify decisions and make better sense of the world.

That’s what bias is, at the highest level: A way of simplifying things. Of staying sane. In many ways, it’s a source of strength.

But when it comes to recruitment, bias has never been particularly useful.

In fact, human bias is wrecking recruitment.

That’s why we built an AI for interviewing. 99% of interviews are a waste of time, because we make our minds up about people within seconds of meeting them.

We use the same mechanism for choosing which milk to buy as we do choosing which person to hire.

By getting an AI to do your screening, interviewing, and assessing, you’re simply removing that element of bias. You’re saying, “I could do this myself, but there’s a better tool for the job.”

Carpenters made a similar switch in the 80s. When they dropped their screwdrivers and picked up impact-driving powertools, they said, “There’s a better tool for the job.”

You might be thinking, “Sure. But doesn’t an AI remove the critical human touch?”

When I first started this company, that was a concern I had. But more than 50 enterprise brands are using our tech, and the average candidate satisfaction rate is above 90%.

There’s more. Brand new independent research has found that our tool increases diversity in tech, precisely because women feel like an AI won’t knock them back.

The bottom line is this: Candidates don’t feel that AI is less human. They love that someone cares enough to give them a chance, regardless of who they are and where they’ve come from.

Let’s say, then, that you’re sold on the idea of AI, but aren’t sure who to trust.

I get that most of all.

If you’re not careful, the path to AI transformation can take you through a minefield.

That’s why I’ve compiled some documents to help you make the case for ethical AI at your company.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

If you’ve got any questions or concerns about Sapia.ai or the use of AI in general, I’d love to talk about them with you. You can follow this link to send me an email.

It’s my pledge to you, as CEO and founder of Sapia.ai, that if you choose to partner with us, this page will be the last black box you ever see.

barb hyman

Barb Hyman
CEO and Founder
Sapia.ai