Are You Ready for a Bot-Interview? Illinois Law Restricts Orwellian HR Practice

A growing number of employers use artificial intelligence to screen candidates in the hiring process. Gecko, Mya, AutoView and HireVue offer AI-powered interview platforms.

Under a law passed by the Illinois General Assembly, Illinois employers using artificial intelligence platforms during their hiring and recruitment processes would have to seek the consent of job applicants.

What do interview-bots do? They evaluate applicants’ facial expressions, word choices, body language, vocal tones, and dozens of other personal characteristics. 

Data collected through this process is translated into a score that the employer can use to determine whether a job candidate is a good match for the organization. (I’ll get back to the red text in a few seconds.)

Hundreds of employers already use these platforms. They say it’s efficient and cuts hiring time.

A Deloitte study says that video interviewing assisted by AI can reduce pre-hire assessment questions from 200 to just 5 and raises the possibility of one-interview hires.

To be clear, Illinois is not banning AI interviews.

“Applicants deserve to be as prepared as possible coming into the interview process,” bill sponsor Sen. Iris Y. Martinez (D) said in a statement. “While artificial intelligence can be a useful tool for companies to screen and hire employees, they should not be able to use it without the applicant agreeing to do so.”

The new law will require employers to disclose their use of AI analysis tools as part of the job recruitment and evaluation process. Prior to any video job interviews, employers would have to notify the job applicant in writing that AI may be used to analyze the applicant’s facial expressions and fitness for duty; provide applicants with an information sheet explaining how AI works; and obtain written consent for the use of AI technology during the interview process.

The legislation also would place limits on employers’ ability to share and maintain AI videos. H.B. 2557 specifically requires employers to destroy such videos within 30 days of a completed hiring process.

What are these dozens of other personal characteristics? I don’t know. My concerns are that people with disabilities (speech impairments) and accents will be filtered out on grounds of fluency. Ditto applicants with wrinkles (older workers), people of color, and unattractive people.

Down the road, I also worry about who gets pinned with liability for biased hiring decisions. Let’s say that ABC Corp. uses AI-bots, and this leads to hiring bias. Under Title VII and related discrimination laws, employers are liable. Here, the employer could plausibly shift the blame to the AI firm—not an employer, and therefore, not liable.