Unconscious Bias Training Isn't the Silver Bullet For a Biased Hiring Process - Elevate Blog

The latest fashion trend with most of my clients is Unconscious Bias Training. While those trainings are interesting and engaging, and may raise awareness about various biases, there's little evidence to their effectiveness in eliminating those. This is well explained in Diversity and Inclusion specialist's Lisa Kepinski's article, Unconscious Bias Awareness Training is Hot, But the Outcome is Not: So What to Do About It?

Lisa outlines two problems with these trainings:

The "So What?" effect: having done the training, leaders and HR professionals alike remain at loss for the next steps that could deliver a sustainable cultural change, and
The training may backfire by encouraging more biased thinking and behaviors (by conditioning the stereotypes). Moreover, "by hearing that others are biased and it's ‘natural’ to hold stereotypes, we feel less motivated to change biases and stereotypes are strengthened (‘follow the herd’ bias)."

Bias, Gender Bias, Hiring, TrainingBrigitte BellanDecember 22, 2017Miriam Grobman, Unconscious Bias, Efficacy, Hiring

Artificial Intelligence—With Very Real Biases-WSJ

According to AI Now co-founder Kate Crawford, digital brains can be just as error-prone and biased as ours.

What do you imagine when someone mentions artificial intelligence? Perhaps it’s something drawn from science-fiction films: Hal’s glowing eye, a shape-shifting terminator or the sound of Samantha’s all-knowing voice in the movie “Her.”

As someone who researches the social implications of AI, I tend to think of something far more banal: a municipal water system, part of the substrate of our everyday lives. We expect these systems to work—to quench our thirst, water our plants and bathe our children. And we assume that the water flowing into our homes and offices is safe. Only when disaster strikes—as it did in Flint, Mich.—do we realize the critical importance of safe and reliable infrastructure.

Biased decisions, Women in the WorkplaceBrigitte BellanOctober 28, 2017AI NOW, Kate Crawford, WSJ, Bias, Hiring