By Ed Scott, Head of Operations
The last 18 months has led employers to revaluate nearly every element of their business growth strategy. This enforced move has proven enlightening in some ways; we have learned new ways to conduct ourselves and called on skill sets we haven’t necessarily used in a professional environment before. One of the key drivers that has supported Miramar’s business model over recent months is the adoption of new technology. Cloud computing, collaboration tools and data sharing platforms have proven their worth in virtually all sectors, and while it has been around for some time now, AI as a business tool is now also more accessible.
AI is multi-facetted, can be used to achieve or automate different tasks and is central to digital transformation strategies regardless of sector. It’s ability to support services like supply chain strategy, cybersecurity and internal HR is proven and has been widely adopted. I have been interested to follow the uptake in use of AI as an emotion recognition tool and am curious to discover how this might translate in the area of talent acquisition.
There are obvious pitfalls to assessing emotion using data. The platforms available claim to be able to understand how someone is feeling in the moment, but also to decode intentions, effectively predicting personality, based on momentary facial expressions. Amazon, Google and Microsoft all have platforms that offer basic emotion analysis as part of their efforts to teach computers how to learn human behaviour, but true emotion recognition is next level. Using AI as part of a remote interview process throws up questions not only around true value but also whether it is morally acceptable to adopt the technology in the first place.
Recruiting using a 100% remote onboarding process means we have to approach interviewing differently. We need to recognise that something will be inconsistent, or missing, from the traditional face to face process. Seeing how people hold themselves and interact with other changes, but based on a different set of information, we can still connect and be responsive to another person over digital. AI cannot (yet) adjust to a human response or action in a way that another human can and does not account for cultural differences between candidates for example. If something doesn’t add value, or provide an insight that is otherwise unobtainable, there seems little benefit.
There is a place for AI in our industry. It allows us to introduce uniformity to a recruitment process, helping to reduce decision making bias. It helps minimise assumptions and it supports diversity. To be of real value, AI needs to reliably improve upon an interviewer’s ability to build a connection and recognise the values of their potential hire.
