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There might be some self-fulfilling prophecy going on here though... "Congratulations! Your willingness to have all the complicated things that make up who you

There might be some self-fulfilling prophecy going on here though... "Congratulations! Your willingness to have all the complicated things that make up who you are summed up in a numeric score indicates that you'd be a perfect fit with our culture!" A little more seriously... > By assessing language in this way, Srivastava and other proponents of LIWC analysis say they can tell whether someone fits in naturally within a group – but also whether they adapt well over time when the group’s dynamics change. This ability to be plastic, to adapt, is often what organisations should really be looking for, says Srivastava. This just says that we can use algorithms to reinforce the traits that already exist on a team. That's a different question to whether hiring the candidate will help the company become more inline with what they want to be. It also seems like a great way to encourage ideological, gender, and cultural homogeneity.

Barrin92 7y ago
Not only does it pretty much by definition create a monoculture, but it also runs into what in economics is called the Lucas critique. Trying to make policy decisions based on highly aggregated historical data without understanding foundations fails because the policy change has an effect on behaviour, summed up by the idiom 'a signal that is being exploited too long ceases to be a useful signal'. There was already the hilarious case of people putting words like "Oxford", and "Cambridge" in their applications in white font on a white background to trick some ML system that scanned applications for these signals. I think we need to teach people who think they can solve every problem with some ML system a lesson in economics because this stuff is getting out of hand.
- stonedartist 7y ago
  >I think we need to teach people who think they can solve every problem with some ML system a lesson in economics because this stuff is getting out of hand. AI/ML has become one of the most hyped buzzwords lately. People are trying to find any and every area possible to push some kind of ML system into the project. Smart toothbrush that uses "AI" to predict the buildup of plaques. Smart shoes that uses AI to do some niche task... and so on.

Barrin92 7y ago

Not only does it pretty much by definition create a monoculture, but it also runs into what in economics is called the Lucas critique. Trying to make policy decisions based on highly aggregated historical data without understanding foundations fails because the policy change has an effect on behaviour, summed up by the idiom 'a signal that is being exploited too long ceases to be a useful signal'. There was already the hilarious case of people putting words like "Oxford", and "Cambridge" in their applications in white font on a white background to trick some ML system that scanned applications for these signals. I think we need to teach people who think they can solve every problem with some ML system a lesson in economics because this stuff is getting out of hand.

stonedartist 7y ago
>I think we need to teach people who think they can solve every problem with some ML system a lesson in economics because this stuff is getting out of hand. AI/ML has become one of the most hyped buzzwords lately. People are trying to find any and every area possible to push some kind of ML system into the project. Smart toothbrush that uses "AI" to predict the buildup of plaques. Smart shoes that uses AI to do some niche task... and so on.