A makeup artist claims she lost her job at a major brand after an AI recruiting tool using facial recognition technology rated her for her body language.
It comes as new figures show the UK ranks second among countries using artificial intelligence (AI) in recruitment and human resources.
Anthea Mairoudhiou, a former MAC makeup artist, was fired in 2020 based on the results of a video interview conducted with HireVue, a US-based recruitment company that used AI facial analysis technology to rate the candidates.
Staff at the company had to reapply for their jobs after being furloughed, with the video interview forming part of the assessment.
Anthéa Mairoudhiou, former MAC makeup artist, was fired based on the results of a video interview
Ms Mairoudhiou received full marks for her performance, but lost her job because her body language was rated poorly during the HireVue interview.
HireVue removed the facial analysis feature from all new assessments in early 2020 after a number of workers raised concerns.
Ms. Mairoudhiou filed a lawsuit against Estée Lauder, the parent company of MAC Cosmetics, and agreed to an out-of-court settlement.
However, this experience had a lasting impact on his health.
“I just thought it was the end of the road for this career, a career that I worked really hard at,” she said.
“And mentally it affected me tremendously. I felt very disappointed and thought I was going crazy.”
New figures show that around 41% of businesses use AI to “improve recruitment and human resources”, according to a study carried out in November last year in 20 countries by the technology company IBM.
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The UK ranks second with the UAE, ahead of the US and behind India, for the use of AI tools to meet human resource needs such as hiring, dismissal and training of workers.
The survey covered five continents but excluded Africa.
Figures on the use of AI in work should be taken with a grain of salt, as different companies define the use of AI differently, but the general trend is that companies are increasingly using AI to human resources, and the United Kingdom is one of the pioneers in this area. this space.
Stock photo of a person using an AI tool: iStock
AI is used by companies to scan resumes and score candidates based on who they believe is the best match, as well as to analyze candidates’ body language and facial expressions during video interviews.
This comes amid a significant increase in the number of applications last year on LinkedIn, the careers social network. The number of LinkedIn applications per person jumped 23% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Software companies are also advertising AI tools that can check whether an employee is at risk of quitting based on metrics such as salary and work history.
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Author Hilke Schellman spoke with developers and whistleblowers from companies offering AI software to employers for her book The Algorithm.
“We have very little evidence that the tools select the most qualified candidates. But they save companies a lot of money,” she said of her findings.
“We know these tools are very cost-effective. They save companies a lot of money on labor.”
Robin Allen, lawyer at legal consultancy Cloisters AI
Workers in the UK are increasingly concerned that they don’t know when these tools are being used on them and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) is calling for regulations to protect them.
Robin Allen, lawyer at legal consultancy Cloisters AI, said: “The first step is to recognize that this requires regulation. It is not enough to simply expect employers to uphold ethical standards.
“When we have these technological systems in the workplace, there have to be people who can tell the computer made a mistake.”
A spokesperson for MAC parent company Estee Lauder said: “MAC UK & Ireland’s vision is to be the world’s most inclusive and diverse beauty brand, and to be the employer of choice for diverse talents. »
They added that visual recognition accounted for 0.25% of Ms Mairoudhiou’s assessment.
“The company has teams that overlay objective data related to performance and other qualitative feedback, which makes up the majority of job evaluation.
“Any suggestion that visual recognition technology plays a decisive role in any employment-related decision at MAC UK & Ireland or Estee Lauder Companies UK & Ireland is false.”
A HireVue spokesperson said: “When implementing a redundancy program or decision, HireVue recommends best practices based on industrial organizational psychology.
“These best practices include collecting relevant data on the employee(s) who decisions will impact.
“These employee data points include, but are not limited to, job performance measures, attendance records, manager evaluations, promotion evaluations, customer service evaluations, and performance needs indicators. performance improvement.”
