Dive Brief:
- Scouring through years of social media posts during the early recruiting process is often tedious. HR professionals may want to look to Los Angeles-based Fama Technologies for an example of a more efficient, high-tech solution, according to CNBC.
- Launched in Jan. 2015, Fama offers software that uses artificial intelligence to search through a candidate's social media posts, including any multimedia they've shared, to identify virtual warning signs like racist, misogynistic or other offensive messages.
- The company's website says its software does not "score" candidates, but instead provides links to "content that your business has asked us to surface." Managers are left to make the decision on their own without discovering other details about candidates that might compromise the usual process by playing to one's unconscious biases, CEO Ben Mones explained in the CNBC report.
Dive Insight:
It's yet another example of the positive potential that artificial intelligence could have in this space. Experts often say that this coming technology can reduce inherent biases in recruiting without completely replacing the need for human beings to interpret the data that systems like Fama's congregate. This assertion has not stopped others from speculating whether bots might be so advanced as to reject a candidate outright, without outside input.
Despite questions over how reliable such systems are at present, it's very clear that bias in recruiting is far from being a dead issue. Fama and other systems should be especially considered for their ability to reduce unconscious biases, thereby significantly leveling the playing field.
