Depending on which media you read, technology, and specifically Artificial Intelligence, will create or destroy thousands of jobs. It is already radically changing many, as well as how we apply and hire for them.
Fear of New Invention
Back in the day when cars were first released, there was such a fear about the danger they presented to society, that when they came to a junction, they were required to stop the car, get out and fire a warning shot so that the people in the surrounding area would be safe from unexpected danger.
I was reminded of this when reading the commentary around Amazon and its use of AI to screen talent.
Amazon’s AI Experiment Went Awry
In case you missed it, Amazon did an experiment. They analysed 10 years of CV data to build a predictive model to help filter through what I am sure is hundreds of thousands of applications to work at the company. Because the sample group was mostly male, the CVs were naturally based towards male ‘traits’ if there is such a thing. The model built off this training data naturally ended up mirroring that sample group which meant it preferred male to female CVs.
CV’s Trigger Bias
It is pretty obvious to all of us that if you create a product off one homogenous group, then you will end up flavouring it with the characteristics of that group. YouTube found that when the team they used to build their iOS app didn’t consider left-handed users when it added in mobile uploads, causing videos recorded in a left-handed person’s view of the landscape to be upside down. I presume because the team building it was comprised of all right-handed people.
Suggested reading: A CV Tells You Nothing
Humans are heavily prone to unconscious bias
In fact, we rely on biases to survive.
While these biases help us not go insane, unfortunately, it has led us to the point today where they are having a very significant effect in the workforce. There are many serious forms of bias, but the best known is gender bias. A recent study showed simply by changing the name of an applicant from a woman’s to a man’s, with every other detail kept the same, the ‘male’ applicant was more likely to progress to an interview. The exact same CV.
When humans do screening, they are prone to making snap judgements based on superficialities, ignoring the very many factors that can help actually predict whether a candidate will perform. This is where data platforms actually have an advantage, by doing ‘blind screening’ and making the process both faster and fairer. However, this only works when the data that goes into the model manages for human frailties.
When it comes to using data to build predictive models to inform and guide decision-making, it is important to really dig deep on the input data.
And if you think unconscious bias training is the answer … read this first.
Think carefully about input data
The key insight for this experiment for Amazon is that relying on CVs to assess talent, is inherently flawed. This is accentuated even more when you accept that what differentiates talent now and will become even more acute in the future is not hard skills, not what uni someone went to or degree they have, but soft skills. Jeff Weiner who has the benefit of this kind of rich data from 600m users attested to that this week.
https://qz.com/work/1423267/linkedin-ceo-jeff-weiner-the-main-us-skills-gap-is-not-coding/
At Sapia, working with dozens of companies across the world to help blind screen thousands of candidates, we know that it’s the behaviours and values of a potential coworker that will influence their performance and tenure. Values, such as commitment and attitudes are invisible in a CV. It’s not easy to see either in an interview. But it’s easily tested using well-crafted data platforms.
So let’s try to look beyond the news grab, the headline which naturally attracts attention when it has Amazon in the first line.
- Algorithms will be biased if the data they are built with is biased.
- Algorithms can be tested for bias. Humans can’t be
- Algorithms can be trained to remove bias. Humans, truthfully cant be
- Algorithms are blind to your gender, skin colour age. Humans are very sensitive to this, especially when it comes to hiring
We have a once-in-a-Millenium opportunity to extend and enable better, fairer thinking through careful and conscious AI-assisted decisions.
The algorithms we build aren’t sentient beings or unmanageable acts of nature, they are built by humans. When we recognise that and are conscious of those risks, we can start to counteract these biases through technology to help humans see what’s in front of us more clearly, without the filters of bias.
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The AGC Debate: Are AI-Written Interview Answers a Red Flag or Smart Strategy?
Every day, we read stories of increased fake or AI-assisted applications. Tools like LazyApply are just one of many flooding the market, driving up applicant volumes to never-before-seen levels.
As an overwhelmed hiring function, how do you find the needle in the haystack without using an army of recruiters to filter through the maze?
At Sapia.ai, we help global enterprises do just that. Many of the world’s most trusted brands, such as Qantas Group, have relied on our hiring platform as a co-pilot for better hiring since 2020.
Our Chat Interview has given millions of candidates a voice they wouldn’t have had – enabling them to share in their own words why they’re the best fit for the role. To find the people who belong with their brands, our customers must trust that their candidates represent themselves. Thus, they want to trust that our AI is analysing real human answers—not answers from a machine.
The Rise of GPT
When ChatGPT went viral in November 2022, we immediately adopted a defensive strategy. We had long been flagging plagiarised candidate responses, but then, we needed to act fast to flag responses using artificially generated content (‘AGC’).
Many companies were in the same position, but Sapia.ai was the only company with a large proprietary data set of interview answers that pre-dated GPT and similar tools: 2.5 billion words written by real humans.
That data enabled us to build a world-first:- an LLM-based AGC detector for text-based interviews, recently upgraded to v2.0 with 99% accuracy and a false positive rate of 1%. An NLP classification model built on Sapia.ai proprietary data that operates across all Sapia.ai chat interviews.
Full Transparency with Candidates
Because we value candidate trust as much as customer trust, we wanted to be transparent with candidates about our ability to detect artificially generated content (AGC). As an LLM, we could identify AGC in real time and warn candidates that we had detected it.
This has had a powerful impact on candidate behaviour. Since our AGC detector went live, we have seen that the real-time flagging acts as a real-time disincentive to use tools like ChatGPT to generate interview responses.
The detector generates a warning if 3 or more answers are flagged as having artificially generated content. The Sapia.ai Chat Interview uses 5 open-ended interview questions for volume hiring roles, such as retail, contact centre, and customer service, and 6 questions for professional roles, such as engineers, data scientists, graduates, etc.
Let’s Take a Closer Look at the Data…
We see that using our AGC detector LLM to communicate live with candidates in the interview flow when artificial content has been detected has a positive effect on deterring candidates from using AI tools to generate their answers.
The rate of AGC use declines from 1 question flagged to 5 questions – raising the flag on one question is generally enough to deter candidates from trying again.
The graph below shows the number of candidates, from a total of almost 2.7m, that used artificially generated content in their answers.
Differences in AGC Usage Rate by Groups
We see no meaningful differences in candidate behaviour based on the job they are applying for or based on geography.
However, we have found differences by gender and ethnicity – for example, men use artificially generated content more than women. The graph below shows the overall completion ratios by gender – for all interviews on the left and for interviews where the number of questions with AGC detected is 5 or more on the right.
Perception of Artificially Generated Content by Hirers.
We’re curious to understand how hirers perceive the use of these tools to assist candidates in a written interview. The creation of the detector was based on the majority of Sapia.ai customers wanting transparency & explainability around the use of these tools by candidates, often because they want to ensure that candidates are using their own words to complete their interviews and they want to avoid wasting time progressing candidates who are not as capable as their chat interview suggests.
However, some of our customers feel that it’s a positive reflection of the candidate, showing that they are using the tools available to them to put their best foot forward.
It’s a mix of perspectives.
Our detector labels it as the use of artificially generated content. It’s up to our customers how they use that information in their decision-making processes.
This concept of having a human in the loop is one of the key dimensions of ethical AI, and we ensure that it is used in every AI-related hiring product we build.
Interested in the science behind it all? Download our published research on developing the AGC detector 👇
Research Paper Download: AI Generated Content in Online Text-based Structured Interviews
Blog
Joe & the Juice Partners with Sapia.ai, Scaling an Exceptional Candidate Experience and Cutting Time to Hire
Read the full press release about the partnership here.
Joe & the Juice, the trailblazing global juice bar and coffee concept, is renowned for its vibrant culture and commitment to cultivating talent. With humble roots from one store in Copenhagen, now with a presence in 17 markets, Joe & The Juice has built a culture that fosters growth and celebrates individuality.
But, as their footprint expands, so does the challenge of finding and hiring the right talent to embody their unique culture. With over 300,000 applications annually, the traditional hiring process using CVs was falling short – leaving candidates waiting and creating inefficiencies for the recruitment team. To address this, Joe & The Juice turned to Sapia.ai, a pioneer in ethical AI hiring solutions.
A Fresh Approach to Hiring
Through this partnership, Joe & The Juice has transformed its hiring process into an inclusive, efficient, and brand-aligned experience. Instead of faceless CVs, candidates now engage in an innovative chat-based interview that reflects the brand’s energy and ethos. Available in multiple languages, the AI-driven interview screens for alignment with the “Juicer DNA” and the brand’s core values, ensuring that every candidate feels seen and valued.
Candidates receive an engaging and fair interview experience as well as personality insights and coaching tips as part of their journey. In fact, 93% of candidates have found these insights useful, helping to deliver a world-class experience to candidates who are also potential guests of the brand.
“Every candidate interaction reflects our brand,” Sebastian Jeppesen, Global Head of Recruitment, shared. “Sapia.ai makes our recruitment process fair, enriching, and culture-driven.”
Results That Matter
For Joe & The Juice, the collaboration has yielded impressive results:
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33% Reduction in Screening Time: Pre-vetted shortlists from Sapia.ai’s platform ensure that recruiters can focus on top candidates, getting them behind the bar faster.
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Improved Candidate Satisfaction: With a 9/10 satisfaction score from over 55,000 interviews, candidates appreciate the fairness and transparency of the process.
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Bias-Free Hiring: By eliminating CVs and integrating blind AI that prioritizes fairness, Joe & The Juice ensures their hiring reflects the diverse communities they serve.
Frederik Rosenstand, Group Director of People & Development at Joe & The Juice, highlighted the transformative impact: “Our juicers are our future leaders, so using ethical AI to find the people who belong at Joe is critical to our long-term success. And now we do that with a fair, unbiased experience that aligns directly with our brand.”
Trailblazing for the hospitality industry
In an industry so wholly centred on people, Joe & the Juice is paving the way for similar brands to adopt technology that enables inclusive, human-first experiences that can reflect a brand’s core values.
If you’re curious about how Sapia.ai can transform your hiring process, check out our full case study on Joe & The Juice here.
Blog
Sapia.ai Wrapped 2024
It’s been a year of Big Moves at Sapia.ai. From welcoming groundbreaking brands to achieving incredible milestones in our product innovation and scale, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in hiring.
And we’re just getting started 🚀
Take a look at the highlights of 2024
All-in-one hiring platform
This year, with the addition of Live Interview, we’re proud to say our platform now covers screening, assessing and scheduling.
It’s an all-in-one volume hiring platform that enables our customers to deliver a world-leading experience from application through to offer.
Supercharging hiring efficiency
Every 15 seconds, a candidate is interviewed with Sapia.ai.
This year, we’ve saved hiring managers and recruiters hours of precious time that can now be used for higher-value tasks.
Giving candidates the best experience
Our platform allows candidates to be their best selves, so our customers can find the people that truly belong with them. They’re proud to use a technology that’s changing hiring, for good.
Leading the way in AI for hiring
We’ve continued to push the boundaries in leveraging ethical AI for hiring, with new products on the way for Coaching, Internal Mobility & Interview Builders.