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It took me 8 months to realize my hiring algorithm was biased
I run a small retail shop in Portland and back in 2022 I set up an automated screening tool to sort through applications. At first it seemed great, we were getting through resumes way faster. But after a few months I noticed we kept hiring the same type of person. Young,刚从 college, mostly guys who went to certain schools. I figured it was just chance but then I ran a manual comparison on about 50 rejected applications from earlier in the year. Turns out the algorithm was penalizing anyone with gaps in their work history or non traditional education. It took me 8 months to actually dig into the data and see the pattern. Now I'm wondering how many good people we passed up. Has anyone else found hidden biases in their own systems?
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claire_young761mo ago
My neighbor runs a bakery and she noticed the same thing with her own system. She was only hiring people who applied through a certain job board because it was easiest, but then she realized she was missing out on all the older workers and career changers who use other sites. It's like we build these shortcuts without even thinking about what we're leaving out. I started asking myself what other shortcuts I'm taking without checking them.
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brianm661mo ago
Bet the real kicker is how the algorithm learned that bias from who we already hired in the first place. Garbage in garbage out but nobody wants to admit their past picks had blind spots.
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