Property Personnel says to keep the human touch in the wake of AI advancement

The MD of the UK’s longest-established estate agency recruitment consultancy has urged caution over the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology for job interviews.

The practice of using AI and facial expression technology to identify the best candidates was first used in the UK last year. Proponents of the practice claim it enables firms to interview more candidates in the early stages of recruitment rather than simply relying on CVs, and that it provides a more reliable and objective indicator of future performance, free of any human bias.

However, Property Personnel Managing Director Anthony Hesse thinks that estate agency should never forget that it is primarily a people business. He said:

“At its heart, estate agency is and has always been about people. We may deal in property, but it is people who are doing the buying and selling. And we are at risk of missing out on some of our best potential recruits if we forget that.

“Artificial Intelligence is all very well; but I seriously doubt that technology will be able to identify some of the subtle factors which only come to light in a one on one relationship between two human beings. In fact, I find the faceless approach of AI quite chilling.” 

AI technology analyses the language, tone and facial expressions of candidates in response to a series of identical job questions which are filmed on their mobile phone or laptop. A set of algorithms then select the best applicants by assessing their performances in the videos against thousands of pieces of facial and linguistic information, compiled from previous interviews of those who have later proven to be good at the job.

Anthony Hesse also says that such technology would inevitably bring problems of its own. He explained:

“Far from being free from bias, this sort of kit would inevitably have in-built biases in its databases. This would mean that some candidates would be discriminated against, and talented applicants might be excluded, simply for not conforming to the norm.

“Some candidates might simply be good at doing interviews on video – but whether the same individuals will be able to perform out in the field is a different matter. Similarly, some people who would have been great at the job will be ruled out just because they don’t fit the data set from the past.

“There are those who say that they would prefer to be assessed by a ‘fair’ computer algorithm, rather than risking being interviewed by a human recruiter - who might be tired, stressed, or let unconscious bias cloud their judgement. But when estate agents are dealing with buyers and sellers of property, they have to deal with clients who are going through all sorts of similar emotions.

“So we want to find and recruit the type of candidate who has the very real human qualities of sensitivity and judgement to sense how they should recognise the relevant signs and adjust their approach accordingly. No artificial intelligence system in the world is going to be able to spot that.

“I’m no Luddite. But the fact remains that the best recruiter of people – is other people.”

SOURCE Property Personnel