The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back Now By Hilke

In The Algorithm, Emmy-award winning journalist Hilke Schellmann delivers a groundbreaking exposé on the pervasive and often hidden impact of artificial intelligence on the workplace. Schellmann, a seasoned reporter for The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian, uncovers how AI is quietly infiltrating hiring practices and employee monitoring, raising urgent civil rights concerns.

Schellmann embarks on a journalistic detective journey, interacting with job applicants and employees subjected to AI-driven hiring processes and surveillance. She explores AI-based video games used in recruitment, algorithms that profile candidates based on online behavior, and technologies that analyze facial expressions and vocal tones to assess emotional states. Her investigation also includes whistleblower accounts revealing flaws in AI tools and the extensive monitoring of employees, including tracking every keystroke and analyzing group discussions.

The book exposes systemic biases embedded in AI systems, particularly against women and people of color, highlighting how faulty algorithms and discriminatory practices have already affected countless individuals. Schellmann’s meticulous research sheds light on the extensive knowledge employers have about their employees, juxtaposed with the lack of transparency surrounding the technologies employed.

The Algorithm is a call to action, advocating for a reevaluation of how AI tools are designed and implemented in the workplace. Schellmann emphasizes the need for thoughtful consideration and robust protections to safeguard human rights in an AI-driven world. Through her investigative prowess, Schellmann urges us to rethink the intersection of technology and humanity, stressing the importance of ethical practices in the evolving landscape of work.