More than a dozen of the world’s large employers today announced that they are adopting criteria to mitigate data and algorithmic bias in human resources and workforce decisions, including recruiting, compensation and employee development.
The companies are members of the Data & Trust Alliance, an organization focused on responsible data and AI practices and this is its first initiative. “Algorithmic Safety: Mitigating Bias in Workforce Decisions,” is designed to help companies evaluate vendors based on their ability to detect, mitigate and monitor algorithmic bias.
The Alliance’s algorithmic bias safeguards include 55 questions in 13 categories that can be adapted by companies to evaluate vendors on criteria including training data and model design; bias testing methods; bias remediation; transparency and accountability; and AI ethics and diversity commitments.
“As businesses transition from ‘going digital’ to becoming ‘data enterprises,’ it is imperative to unlock the value of data and AI in ways that earn trust with every stakeholder,” said Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart, and the current chairman of Business Roundtable. “Developed and used responsibly, these systems hold the promise of making our workforces more diverse, more inclusive and ultimately more innovative.”
Companies adopting the safeguards are American Express, CVS Health, Deloitte, Diveplane, General Motors, Humana, IBM, Mastercard, Meta, Nielsen, Nike, Under Armour and Walmart. Collectively, they employ more than 3.7 million people. Additional Alliance companies are evaluating the safeguards and are expected to adopt them.
“As we accelerate our digital transformation, we also have to ensure that the way we are using data and AI is consistent with our values,” said Laurie Havanec, chief people officer at CVS Health. “Our work to mitigate bias in human resources and recruiting will help us build the more diverse and inclusive teams that we know will produce better results for our companies and our communities.”