The World Employment Confederation announced that its members have agreed a set of principles to guide the deployment of AI in the recruitment and employment industry.

The WEC states that AI systems used in the recruitment and employment industry should be beneficial for individuals and society as a whole. They should be designed to augment human capabilities, with clear processes in place to ensure that they remain under human direction and control at all times. Transparency, explainability and traceability should be guaranteed to understand how these systems arrive at their decisions.

Fairness, non-discrimination, diversity, inclusiveness and privacy, principles that WEC members also abide to in their overall practice of HR services, are also principles to be followed to guarantee ethical use of AI in recruitment and employment, the WEC added.

While WEC principles state that those deploying AI systems remain at all times responsible and accountable for their use, the industry also believes that clear, transparent, and accountable governance frameworks must be in place. WEC is already involved with relevant stakeholders, such as governments, civil society, and academia, in the decision-making process for such frameworks at both global and European level.

Given the evolving nature of Artificial Intelligence, WEC’s code is a living set of principles that will be adapted over time. As for the principles enshrined in WEC’s overall Code of Conduct, WEC members have a duty to apply those ethical principles in their use of AI.

“Artificial Intelligence brings many promises to facilitate the journey to the world of work for both workers and employers: ensuring a better and faster matching between supply and demand of work, grounding labour markets in skills, and contributing to more inclusive labour markets,” the WEC stated. “Responsible and ethical use of AI is however a prerequisite to ensure that it helps both companies and individuals unlock their potential.”

According to the WEC, AI can ensure a better and faster matching between supply and demand of work by on the one hand, helping companies assess the skills of their existing workforce, understand their in-house talent and how to develop it more effectively, and on the other hand, helping workers understand their own skills profile and develop it in the best way to achieve their career goals.

AI can also contribute to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion. It can help to mitigate the likelihood for unconscious bias in recruitment processes and improve the candidate experience.