CVS’ use of an AI “lie detector” during the interview process has landed the company in hot water after a candidate sued them for using the AI tool without providing the option to opt out. The plaintiff took CVS Health Corporation and CVS Pharmacy, Inc. to court after he was not provided the option to refuse the use of the HireVue video interview technology or Affectiva’s artificial intelligence analysis program when he interviewed for a position with the organization in 2021.
He alleged that the use of an AI-aided lie detector by CVS went against Massachusetts law and the company had failed to provide the necessary notice of his statutory rights. Both parties have agreed to a settlement, however, the exact amount in their agreement has not been publicly disclosed. Can AI tell if someone is lying? It’s a valid question, but one that cannot be answered with 100 percent certainty.
Image: CVS
CVS’ AI “Lie Detector” Usage Prompts a Conversation Around the Growing Presence of AI in the Workplace
The AI lie detector lawsuit was filed after the plaintiff interviewed for a supply chain position in Massachusetts with CVS back in January 2021 and was not hired for the position. Much later, he learned that the HireVue service had been used to screen his interview and there had been no mention of the AI lie detector test on the CVS job application that was posted online, and neither was he updated about its use during the interview.
According to Massachusetts General Laws cited in the case, “It shall be unlawful for any employer or his agent, with respect to any of his employees, or any person applying to him for employment, including any person applying for employment as a police officer, to subject such person to, or request such person to take a lie detector test within or without the commonwealth, or to discharge, not hire, demote or otherwise discriminate against such person for the assertion of rights arising hereunder.”
While the HireVue platform does not market itself as a lie detector service, its tools can be used to assess whether a candidate is being truthful with their responses. As claimed in the filing, both the use of the lie detector during the interview with CVS and the consideration of it as a metric to deny the hiring of the employee were considered to be unlawful.
The CVS-job applicant settlement that has been brokered is for an individual deal and the two parties have till September 30, 2024, to fulfill the obligations (such as payment) of the agreement.
What is the HireVue Technology That Was Used in the CVS-Job Applicant Settlement?
According to the case filings, the video-recorded interviews consist of a set of questions such as “What does integrity mean to you?”, “How would other people describe your work ethic?” or “What would you do if you saw someone cheating on a test?” These recorded interviews are then uploaded to Affectiva, which uses a Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to analyze the applicant’s facial expressions, which are then combined with other factors such as voice intonation, eye contact, speech inflection, and other features.
HireVue uses Affectiva to track the applicant’s qualities and expressions to draw conclusions about the candidate’s cultural fit with the organization and generates an “employability score” to establish whether the candidate matches up to the standards maintained by the organization.
The company has claimed that it can help organizations detect whether the applicant “[h]as an innate sense of integrity and honor” among other things, which it determines by assessing whether they are lying or providing an inaccurate response on how they would really behave in the described situations.
The job applicant claimed that if he had been aware of CVS’ AI lie detector testing, he may not have participated in the interview at all.
How Accurate Is an AI Lie Detector Test?
Lie detector tests in general have always had a bad rep in terms of their accuracy and ability to get information right every time. While polygraph tests are still occasionally used in criminal investigations, the results are not necessarily admissible in court. Adding AI to the mix further complicates the matter as AI tools have not been known for their accuracy either.
If an employee lies during an interview, some of that can be intentional to obfuscate a major detail about their work history while the rest might be entirely unintentional or a minor inflation of their abilities. That could be enough to discourage an employer from hiring someone based on the mere fact that they aren’t as capable as they say they are, but it could also be a lack of confidence that’s giving out the signs that the candidate is lying. Unfortunately, AI technology hasn’t advanced to the point where it can make those slight distinctions.
An AI lie detector, such as that used in the interview at CVS, may not be familiar with the individual human differences enough to get it right every time. We cannot speak to the efficiency of Affectiva’s testing but it can be risky to solely use AI as a cornerstone of good judgment. It is also important to consider that the software could be a very accurate assessor of human expression, but it may not correlate with the candidate lying every time. Are AI lie detectors 100% accurate? So far, we have no evidence to support that claim.
There are many ways in which AI can be used within the workplace and more specifically, within the hiring process, for example in sorting through data, scheduling and organizing candidates, improving the onboarding experience, etc. but the AI-aided lie detector process such as that used by CVS may need to reflect and adhere to the laws of the region. States like Colorado have begun rolling out laws with regard to the use of AI in the workplace and cases like this highlight why such regulations are necessary.
Does CVS Use AI in Other Areas as Well?
Apart from the recent case of CVS’ use of an AI lie detector during employment screening, we’ve also heard other news about the company’s plans with AI. CVS revealed its plans to the Wall Street Journal, explaining that it intended to use artificial intelligence more extensively for customer service.
Instead of having menu-based options for customers to sit through when looking for specific information, the company hopes to have AI answer the questions as much as possible. When the AI is unable to respond, a customer service rep will be required to step in.
CVS plans to use AI to help customers have their questions answered quickly and more efficiently and to that end, the company also plans to launch a new app later this year. The pharmaceutical business has seen a shortage of pharmacists recently and has also met some union efforts from employees in Rhode Island. Drugstore chain Walgreens also witnessed a similar walkout after employees protested for better working conditions at the store. CVS’ attempts to increase the use of AI could help with their struggles with staffing.
Regardless of how companies plan to utilize AI, they need to ensure the application is carefully tested and verified and adheres to all the regulations provided by state and federal laws.
