The use of artificial intelligence is sweeping through wide swaths of the employment landscape. Meant to simplify, streamline and speed up many processes, AI is being used in nearly every aspect of the hiring and work evaluation processes. While this can be beneficial to employers, it can also create several problems that place applicants and workers at risk of unfair treatment. When this happens, workplace discrimination can occur, significantly harming applicants and workers.
How can the use of artificial intelligence cause workplace discrimination?
AI technologies are relatively new. While their use can be impressive, AI certainly has its flaws. Here are some that can lead to workplace discrimination that impacts innocent workers like you:
- The AI engine used to assess your application or your work product may be based on biased algorithms that negatively assess people from certain protected classes.
- The data input used to create the AI’s algorithms could be biased or discriminatory in nature, thereby skewing the output created by the AI engine, thus negatively impacting individuals from certain classes.
- The AI fails to account for reasonable accommodations, leaving disabled individuals without the resources and functionality needed to complete their job assignments.
- The AI becomes harassing in nature against those in a protected class.
If you suspect that the use of artificial intelligence has led to unfair treatment in the workplace that has resulted in negative implications, such as a missed job opportunity, demotion, reduced pay, lost hours or termination, then you need to gather as much information as you can about the AI programming used by your employer. By doing so, you’ll hopefully be better positioned to assess the circumstances and make legal decisions that protect your best interests.
Act now to hold your employer accountable for workplace discrimination
It’s up to you to point out workplace discrimination and seek accountability and compensation. This means you’ll have to gather evidence and craft persuasive legal arguments, which can be tricky to do when dealing with new technologies like AI. But this isn’t a process that you have to confront alone. So, if you’re ready to fight for a just outcome, then now is the time to seek out any help that you may need along the way.