Publishers Weekly
11/20/2023
Schellmann, a journalism professor at New York University, debuts with a disquieting survey of the failures of artificial intelligence used in corporate personnel decisions. Pushing back against claims that AI reduces bias in hiring, she notes that AI software’s “one-size-fits-all” approach often marginalizes people with disabilities. For instance, an AI game claimed to test job candidates’ “processing speed” and creativity by measuring how quickly applicants could hit the space bar, putting people with motor disabilities at a disadvantage. AI, Schellmann explains, frequently proposes ludicrous correlations because, in analyzing the résumés of current employees, they often pick up on statistically significant but arbitrary commonalities, as when one hiring tool “predicted success for candidates named Thomas or Elsie.” Stories of people negatively affected by AI exasperate, such as the case of a recent college graduate who worked as a contract delivery driver for Amazon during the pandemic until a technical glitch triggered the automated management system to fire her. Elsewhere, Schellmann’s reports on testing various AI programs provide amusing anecdotes about the technology’s considerable shortcomings (an automated interview program designed to assess English proficiency decided Schellmann’s English was “competent,” despite her answering entirely in German). It’s a striking indictment of AI’s flaws and misuses. Agent: Roger Freet, Folio Literary. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 SELECTION—FINANCIAL TIMES
“In The Algorithm, Hilke Schellmann has done the impossible: she has rendered the baffling ‘Wild West’ of AI immensely readable and approachable. Schellmann gives us the dark and hidden history of tech innovation and the marketplace through the stories of those whose lives have been smashed by its glitches.”—Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Amity and Prosperity
“Hilke Schellmann is writing on one of the most important topics of our time—one that impacts all of us more than we realize. The book takes a balanced approach to illuminating the current state of AI in the workplace. It’s not just about incredible benefits or doomsday scenarios, but a real look into the current state of these tools, the incentive systems driving their proliferation, the mixed results they provide, and how we might ensure better outcomes. Highly recommended.”—Ryan Fuller, former vice president for workplace intelligence at Microsoft
“The Algorithm provides a fresh, important perspective on how AI is changing many critical workplace decisions in organizations. Her research is thorough and clever, and exposes the many of problems that AI and its proponents have already created for companies and employees.”—David Futrell, Former Senior Director of Organization Performance at Walmart
“A disturbing investigation into use of AI systems in hiring, firing, and employee surveillance. As Schellmann demonstrates, AI has moved into crucial areas of our lives, but the process has been so fast and silent that its influence is almost invisible. She argues that HR managers should be required to understand how their algorithms work, and there must be greater human input to personnel decisions. This eye-opening book makes it hard to disagree.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Hilke Schellmann was one of the first journalists to understand the dangers of AI passing judgement on workers, and The Algorithm is an absolutely vital book about the risks and harms of the systems already operating—on us—today.”—Clay Shirky, author of Cognitive Surplus and Here Comes Everybody
"A timely and essential call for a human-centred approach to algorithmic technologies."—Robonomics
Kirkus Reviews
2023-10-04
A disturbing investigation into use of AI systems in hiring, firing, and employee surveillance.
As Emmy-winning journalist and journalism professor Schellmann demonstrates, AI has moved into crucial areas of our lives, but the process has been so fast and silent that its influence is almost invisible. The author is particularly interested in how it has infiltrated the business world, especially how it affects recruitment and dismissals. The use of AI systems began as a means to help human resources managers sort out the huge numbers of applications they received, but once the genie was out of the bottle, it spread into all areas of assessment, looking for keywords and patterns. These systems are already ubiquitous, writes the author, used by 99% of Fortune 500 companies. Schellmann records many cases of bias on the basis of gender and race; even a person’s zip code and social media posts can lead algorithms to jump to specific—and sometimes incorrect—conclusions. Bias is unintentional, but it does not seem possible to give algorithms a sense of context for making decisions about applicants. The results provided by an algorithm look impressive, but follow-up research has shown that AI–based hiring is no more successful than traditional methods. Comprehensive surveillance of employees is now possible, with AI systems tracking computer use and interaction with other employees. Schellmann examines instances of effective employees being dismissed simply because their results did not match an algorithm’s metrics. She argues that HR managers should be required to understand how their algorithms work, and there must be greater human input to personnel decisions. The author presents numerous good ideas, but she concludes that “it’s a dark outlook—a system in which algorithms define who we are.” This eye-opening book makes it hard to disagree.
With clear-minded authority, Schellmann uncovers a fraught, often unfair system.
