At some point in the future, Sourcers could be replaced by bots. From what I have been observing at TechCrunch Disrupt NY, the most disruptive companies in the HR Tech and Recruiting space are after your job. They plan to do so by building disruptive match technologies as soon as they can.
Is Artificial Intelligence taking over?
The thought process is that data science and machine learning can do a Sourers job, faster and better than a human can. Think IBM’s Watson. Remember when Jeopardy enlisted their top competitors ever to compete against Watson? The result was 1 mil. going to Watson. “Half the money went to World Vision, a nonprofit that helps children in poverty, the other half to World Community Grid, IBM’s humanitarian supercomputer.”
But, computers have no feelings.
True but they are becoming more conversational. In May 2016, Popular Science reported that Google’s AI is working on becoming more conversational by loading it with romance novels. (Not a joke.) While many do not want to admit it, we are experiencing what some people are calling . So no, computers cannot feel, but what they can do through AI, machine learning, and application bots, computers are learning what we want, what we need and eventually will seem as seamless as we look at our smartphones today.
Getting to know you.
UpScored, one of the recruiting tech companies participating in the “StartUp Battlefield” at TechCrunch Disrupt NY has created yet another algorithm that will analyze and score resumes to deliver to you the candidates that you will like best.
Elise Runde Voss said, “UpScored applies natural language processing and machine learning to the most convoluted part of the recruiting funnel to create a seamless experience for our users. Our technology analyzes thousands of data points on the candidate’s resume while incorporating proprietary taxonomies and external data sources. Our scoring algorithms were trained on almost half a million resumes.
The most important aspect of our technology: UpScored gets to know you. It’s our goal to create a truly customized experience by using data science techniques behind the scenes.”
And they will do it for the low starting price of 10% of the candidates starting salary.
Am I really going to use my job?
No, you are not. These data-driven AI systems are only as smart as the data that is going in. Most of these companies only offer solutions in a few locations. Why? Because all of the data they are using to make these matches is coming from one area. That is the only way they can work. So even though it will not be happening anytime soon, at some point
Venture capitalist Peter Thiel stated in his book Zero to One said,
While computers can find patterns that elude humans, they don’t know how to compare sources or how to interpret complex behaviors. Actionable insights can only come from a human analyst.
So as it stands, humans will not fully be replaced, but they will be able to handle more and more complex tasks. My guess is that we will work together with AI systems. AI will handle past behavior and leave the unpredictable to the humans.
UpScored is currently only focused on the New York market but if you are interested you can download it by clicking here.
** Disclaimer: We do not condone “pay to play” of any kind. But, UpScored while not a customer, they did give me post-it notes.
By Jackye Clayton
Jackye is an acclaimed thought leader and inspirational speaker on recruiting and DEIB topics. She brings years of experience recruiting across a variety of industries including tech, HR, legal, and finance. In her role as VP of Talent Acquisition and DEIB, she leads all related work at Textio, provides critical expertise to customers, and serves as a leading voice in the products Textio creates for the broader ecosystem. Jackye has been named one of the 9 Powerful Women in Business You Should Know by SDHR Consulting, one of the 15 Women in HR Tech to Follow by VidCruiter, and is on the Top 100 list of Human Resources Influencers by Human Resource Executive Magazine.
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