How AI is causing an unemployment crisis among middle aged job seekers | 60 Minutes Australia

AI-Assisted Recruitment and Age Discrimination

The report examines how AI-assisted recruitment may disadvantage middle-aged and older job seekers. Employers increasingly use automated systems to screen applications, scan for keywords and ask knockout questions. Career coach Leah Lambart says these systems can reject candidates before a person reviews their application; some applicants are rejected within minutes.

Age bias may also enter the process through employers’ instructions to recruiters. Lambart describes an alleged request not to shortlist anyone over 40.

Job Seekers’ Experiences

Several job seekers describe the personal toll of trying to find work:

• Lizzie Barclay, a 53-year-old former recruiter, says she has applied for more than 240 jobs with little response. After losing her home because she could no longer afford rent, she fears she may have to live in her car with her son.
• Stacey Duguid, a 52-year-old former fashion editor, says she spent 16 months unemployed and was advised to remove her age and most of her work history from her CV. Her posts about midlife women’s employment struggles drew thousands of responses. She eventually found a role after a wellness company saw her story online.

Risks and Safeguards

Barb Hyman, chief executive of recruitment software company Sapia AI, warns that AI can reproduce biases in the data and criteria it uses. She says some employers may enable discriminatory features without understanding their effects, and calls for stronger education and safeguards.

A CV review and online screening test illustrate how minor formatting details can affect automated assessments, even when a human recruiter considers a candidate well qualified. By contrast, cybersecurity CEO Ahmed Khanji says his company still reviews applications manually. He argues that AI should not make hiring decisions without appropriate governance.

Workday Lawsuit

The report also covers Derek Mobley, a 52-year-old US job seeker who believes Workday’s recruitment software repeatedly flagged him for rejection. His lawyer, Rod Cooks, is pursuing a lawsuit alleging discrimination by the software. Cooks says 15,000 people are now represented in the age-related part of the case.

Workday denies the allegations, saying its tools do not make hiring decisions and are designed to include human oversight. The court will determine whether the case can proceed as a class action.

Key Takeaway

The contributors argue that AI is not necessarily the sole cause of discrimination: it can amplify employers’ existing biases, especially when used without adequate oversight. Lambart recommends that job seekers take a focused, strategic approach rather than relying on automated application systems.

The report’s central concern is that capable, experienced workers may be screened out before employers have a chance to assess them.

Presenters and Contributors

The reporter or presenter is not identified in the subtitles. Contributors featured are Lizzie Barclay, Stacey Duguid, Leah Lambart, Barb Hyman, Derek Mobley, Rod Cooks and Ahmed Khanji.