69% of Americans Think Artificial Intelligence Should Not Have a Role in Hiring Tasks

Many Americans Say AI Should Not Have a Role in Selecting Candidates Hired for Positions, Conducting Virtual Job Interviews, Assessing Candidates’ Truthfulness About Qualifications, and More

PHILADELPHIA, PA – May 15, 2019 - According to a new survey of more than 2,000 adults conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Yoh, a leading international talent and outsourcing company and part of Day & Zimmermann, 69% of Americans believe that artificial intelligence (AI) should not have a role in certain hiring tasks.

Hiring tasks that Americans believe AI should not have a role in include:

• selecting the candidate that is hired for a position (42%)
• conducting virtual job interviews (32%)
• assessing if a candidate is being truthful about their level of experience or qualifications during an interview (30%)
• delivering job rejections to candidates not selected for a position (26%)
• screening resumes (22%)
• assisting with the onboarding process for new hires, e.g., signing up for benefits, computer login set-up, and email registration (19%)

However, there is a portion of Americans who do not seem to be concerned about AI having an active role in some hiring tasks. Nearly one third of Americans (31%) think it’s acceptable for AI to play a role in any number of hiring tasks.

“Despite a majority of Americans’ skepticism of it, AI technology has been helping companies make better and more informed hiring decisions for years, both for the company and the candidates,” said Emmett McGrath, President of Yoh. “However, AI technology should be used only to augment and enhance, not replace, the recruitment function. In order for it to be fully effective, this technology must be used in conjunction with the experience, skill and intuition of human recruiters and hiring managers.”

Additional findings include:

• Employed Americans are not as open to AI having a role in certain hiring tasks compared to Americans who are not currently employed – Results showed that 74% of employed Americans are not OK with AI having a role in certain hiring tasks, while just 61% of Americans who are not employed feel AI should not be involved in certain hiring tasks.

• College grads view AI having a role in selecting the candidate that is hired for a position less favorably than those with a high school degree or less – Half of college graduates (50%) don’t believe AI should have a role in selecting the candidate that is hired for a position, while only 32% of those with a high school degree or less feel the same way.

• More older Americans are amenable than Millennials when it comes to AI being involved in certain hiring tasks– Americans 55 and older are less likely to feel AI should not have a role in certain hiring tasks when compared to those aged 18-34 (64% vs. 75%).

SURVEY METHODOLOGY
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Yoh from April 23-25, 2019 among 2,029 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Joe McIntyre at joe@gobraithwaite.com.