Study Guidance Company In China Agrees To Make Peace In Cases Of Using Discriminatory AI In The US

JAKARTA - A Chinese-based tutoring company has agreed to make peace in a lawsuit filed by a US government agency claiming the company used artificial intelligence-based recruitment software that illegally removed older job applicants.

The 2022 lawsuit against ITUtorGroup Inc. is the first by the US Equal Work Opportunities Commission (EEOC) involving the use of AI by a company to make work decisions.

The commission, which enforces laws on workplace bias, in 2021 unveils initiatives to ensure that AI software used by US employers is in accordance with anti-discrimination laws. The EEOC has warned that it will focus on law enforcement efforts against companies that use AI incorrectly.

iTutorGroup agreed to pay $365.000 to more than 200 job applicants allegedly not considered for their age, according to a joint document filed in a New York federal court on Wednesday, August 9. The settlement must be approved by a federal judge.

The company, which provides English guidance to students in China, denied any errors in the settlement.

The EEOC has charged that the iTunes Group in 2020 programmed online recruitment software to get rid of 55-year-old or older women and men aged 60 years or older.

ITUtorGroup, a unit of China's Ping An Insurance Group Co, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the media. An EEOC spokesman said the agency would not comment until the settlement was approved.

At least 85% of major US employers use AI in some aspect of work, according to a recent survey.

This includes software that gets rid of job applicants before a human reviews any app, human resource "chatbots", and programs that perform performance assessments and provide recommendations for promotion.

Many worker advocates and policymakers are concerned about the potential bias in AI software, even unintentionally.

In a class lawsuit that is still ongoing in California's federal court Workday, Workday is accused of designing recruitment software used by many large companies that get rid of black applicants, special needs, and older. Workday has denied making mistakes.

Experts predict there will be an increase in the number of lawsuits accusing companies of discrimination through the use of their AI software.