Online Job Search…How Beneficial is it Really?
In our digital world, more and more people choose to utilize online job search platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed. While many people would hail these platforms as doing social good by connecting people with opportunities, are they really beneficial?
Luciano Floridi argues in “Ethics After the Information Revolution” that information technologies and digital technologies reduce the friction that happens in information exchange or distribution. However, with the growth of hiring algorithms, job seekers are not being shown all of the opportunities they are qualified for. Is information technology that blocks opportunities for qualified candidates really frictionless? As Miranda Bogen explains, an extremely effective barrier to people finding jobs is not notifying them of an opportunity. From this point of view, information technologies are capable of creating more friction under certain conditions.
Job search algorithms appear to be helpful at first glance, but in reality, they can further engrain bias and discrimination in society and the job search process. Algorithms learn from an employer’s actions and preferences, then send out targeted ads to “relevant” job seekers. These hiring algorithms can be known for perpetuating gender or racial biases and a study conducted by Harvard Business Review found that “most hiring algorithms will drift toward bias by default” (Bogen). This begs the question, who is at fault here and how do we fix it? The humans that make the algorithms are not solely to blame, societal structures broadcast norms that algorithms read into and utilize to disseminate opportunities.
Data scientist Cathy O’Neil coined the term widespread, mysterious, and destructive (WMD) algorithms, in her book “Weapons of Math Destruction”. As Joy Buolamwini explains, these algorithms decide who gets a job, who gets a loan, who gets into college, and more. These are decisions that impact huge aspects of human life. I personally find it troubling that many important aspects of my life — including career opportunities — have been or will be decided by black-box algorithms. While I appreciate that black box algorithms utilize tons of data to produce results, in the employment sector specifically, it is important to consider a more holistic approach that factors in candidates’ soft skills.
Should this much importance be placed on black-box algorithms? Should these algorithms be made public in an effort to decrease bias? What should be done to correct these algorithms? There are many questions to ask, and not many people to answer them.
References:
Bogen, M. (2019, May 6). All the Ways Hiring Algorithms Can Introduce Bias. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/05/all-the-ways-hiring-algorithms-can-introduce-bias
Buolamwini, J. (2016, November). How I’m Fighting Bias in Algorithms [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/joy_buolamwini_how_i_m_fighting_bias_in_algorithms#t-7181
Floridi, Luciano. (2010). Ethics after the Information Revolution. The Cambridge Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics (pp. 3–19). Cambridge University Press.
