ACLU Asks for US Probe Into Bias of Consultant's AI Hiring Tools

Aon Consulting, a firm that works with Fortune 500 companies, falsely claims its applicant screening software is “bias free,” according to the ACLU.

The ACLU said the filing is part of its broader push to take on discrimination issues from AI hiring software and other automated technologies.
Photographer: Carl Court/Getty Images

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By Davey Alba and Leon Yin

May 30, 2024 at 12:15 PM EDT

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The American Civil Liberties Union alleged in a complaint to regulators that a large consulting firm is selling AI-powered hiring tools that discriminate against job candidates on the basis of disability and race, despite marketing these services to businesses as “bias free.”

Aon Consulting, Inc., a firm that works with Fortune 500 companies and sells a mix of applicant screening software, has made false or misleading claims that its tools are “fair,” free of bias and can “increase diversity,” the ACLU alleged in a complaint to the US Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday, a copy of which was reviewed by Bloomberg.