Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize the hiring process by removing bias and improving the matching of skills to job requirements. A team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University, led by Youngjin Yoo and Erman Ayday, is embarking on a groundbreaking project funded by a $250,000 grant from Walmart to explore how AI can enhance learning and employment records (LERs).
LERs are digital resumes that contain verified records of people’s skills, educational experiences, and work histories. However, the current systems for LERs are complex and disconnected, making it difficult for individuals to showcase their skills to employers in a clear and trustworthy manner. This often leads to bias in the hiring process and poor job matches.
Yoo and Ayday believe that streamlined AI could offer a solution to these challenges by improving the hiring process and enhancing the matching of skills to job requirements. By leveraging AI, they aim to create a more equitable and efficient infrastructure for LERs that empowers individuals to showcase their skills and enables employers to make more informed hiring decisions.
One of the key challenges in integrating AI into the LER ecosystem is ensuring privacy, fairness, transparency, and verifiability. Centralized LER systems raise concerns about data privacy and security, and individuals often lack ownership and control over their personal data. To address these issues, the research team proposes developing a decentralized, privacy-preserving data architecture that leverages AI.
Walmart, the sponsor of the research project, is excited to support this innovative work. Sean Murphy, director of retail opportunity at Walmart, believes that improving the hiring process with AI can lead to better outcomes for both employers and job seekers, creating a more equitable job market. The collaboration between Case Western Reserve University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Digital Credential Consortium at MIT is a significant step towards revolutionizing how employment records are managed and verified.
The research will focus on designing a decentralized data system that allows individuals to control their personal data while safely sharing their learning and work records. AI will be used to understand skills and abilities from transcripts and job descriptions, and privacy-friendly methods will be developed to match skills with jobs without sacrificing personal data privacy.
Overall, the goal of the research project is to create a more equitable, efficient, and privacy-preserving infrastructure for LERs. By harnessing the power of AI, individuals will be able to showcase their skills, employers will make more informed hiring decisions, and the education and workforce ecosystem will become more dynamic. This collaboration between academia and industry has the potential to transform the future of hiring practices and create a more inclusive job market.
For more information about the research project, please contact Colin McEwen at colin.mcewen@case.edu.