Artificial intelligence and face scanning technology is being used in UK job interviews

Artificial intelligence and facial analysis software is being used in job interviews in the UK for the first time – as companies turn to technology to find the best candidates.

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The software, developed by US company HireVue, analyses the language, tone and facial expressions of candidates as they film themselves answering questions, the Telegraph reported.

It has already been adopted by 700 companies across the world, including Hilton, Unilever, Urban Outfitters and Vodafone, and is said to have hosted more than 100,000 interviews in the UK to date.

HireVue claims to increase a firm’s quality of hire by 88 per cent, diversity by 55 per cent, and fill roles in a company 90 per cent faster.

It does so by using algorithms to evaluate an applicant’s 15-minute video against 25,000 pieces of data gathered from previous ‘successful’ hires.

But academics have warned that facial analysis or AI software could have ‘biases’ which would rule out talented candidates who would have been ‘great at the job’.

Anna Cox, professor of human-computer interaction at University College London, said: ‘It is going to favour people who are good at doing interviews on video and any data set will have biases in it which will rule out people who actually would have been great at the job’.

Griff Ferris, Legal and Policy Officer for Big Brother Watch, added that the ‘faceless artificial intelligence system’ could have ‘chilling implications’ for jobseekers.

HireVue claims to increase a firm’s quality of hire by 88 per cent, diversity by 55 per cent, and fill roles in a company 90 per cent faster

The software uses algorithms to evaluate an applicant’s 15-minute video against 25,000 pieces of data gathered from previous ‘successful’ hires

He said: ‘As with many of these systems, unless the algorithm has been trained on an extremely diverse dataset there’s a very high likelihood that it may be biased in some way, resulting in candidates from certain backgrounds being unfairly excluded and discriminated against.’

Loren Larsen, Hirevue’s chief technology officer, said the algorithm used by the software assesses the candidate’s language, tone of voice and facial expressions.

It is said to analyse expressions including lip tightening, brow furrowing, smiling and eye widening or closing throughout a candidate’s video interview.

He said: ‘There are 350-ish features that we look at in language: do you use passive or active words? Do you talk about “I” or “We.” If someone speaks really slowly, you are probably not going to stay on the phone to buy something from them.’

Academics have warned that facial analysis or AI software could have ‘biases’ which would rule out talented candidates who would have been ‘great at the job’

Mr Larsen added he would ‘much prefer’ to have his ‘first screening with an algorithm’ which ‘treats him fairly’ than one that depends on ‘how tired the recruiter is’.

According to their website, HireVue is available in over 30 languages and has hosted more than 10 million on-demand interviews and one million assessments across the world.

The HireVue OnDemand video software, they said, reduces the need for firms to ‘synchronize candidates and calendars’, allowing companies to spend more time ‘deciding between the best candidates’.