AI washing is a phenomenon where a company falsely claims to use artificial intelligence (AI) in its products or services. The goal is often to appear more competitive or sophisticated. Many companies, especially those in recruiting and hiring, are engaging in AI washing to attract business. However, this deceptive practice can harm their reputation over time.
In recruitment, AI washing can lead to inefficient hiring processes, waste resources, and fail to provide the promised improvements in applicant quality. This is because the systems touted as AI are often just complex automation or pattern recognition. True AI in recruitment involves machine learning, predictive analytics, and natural language processing, which can offer significant improvements such as candidate sorting and engagement, interview scheduling, and unbiased hire recommendations.
To avoid AI washing, companies should consider the following: whether the system learns and evolves over time; if it uses previously processed data to predict future outcomes; if it can understand, interpret, and respond to human language; and if the vendor can demonstrate clear, measurable success with the technology. Companies should also ensure their data is clean and organized as AI’s learning capabilities largely rely on the quality and organization of the data.
All in all, while AI has the potential to revolutionize recruiting, companies must be diligent and discerning in their adoption of technology to avoid falling for AI washing.
