Watson Weakly: Recruitment the Smart Way
February 26, 2019
IBM is working overtime to become the cloud alternative to Amazon. IBM Watson is back to recipes, health care, and background noise. IBM, however, knows how to capture the attention of the DarkCyber and Beyond Search team in rural Kentucky.
We noted an article in the Register, an online publication, with the interesting title “IBM So Very, Very Sorry after Jobs Page Casually Asks Hopefuls: Are You White, Black… or Yellow?”
The Register asserts:
IBM has apologized after its recruitment web pages asked applicants whether their ethnicity was, among other options, the racial slurs Yellow and Mulatto.
The article describes the wording as a “baffling error.” My hunch is that either IBM Watson or one of his acolytes consumed outputs with the diligence once expects of millennials and smart software, possibly working in tandem.
An IBM professional is quoted as telling the Register:
“Those questions were removed immediately when we became aware of the issue and we apologize. IBM hiring is based on skills and qualifications. We do not use race or ethnicity in the hiring process and any responses we received to those questions will be deleted. IBM has long rejected all forms of racial discrimination and we are taking appropriate steps to make sure this does not happen again.”
Watson? What about that cancer diagnosis? What about inappropriate questions? What about those old people who used to work in personnel?
Stephen E Arnold, February 26, 2019
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