Amazon.com Inc.'s machine-learning specialists learned something unexpected from the machine: their new recruiting engine did not like women.
The team had been building computer programs since 2014 to review job applicants' resumes, with the aim of mechanizing the search for top talent, five people familiar with the effort told Reuters.
Automation has been key to Amazon's e-commerce dominance, be it inside warehouses or driving pricing decisions. The company's experimental hiring tool used artificial intelligence to give job candidates scores ranging from one to five stars — much like shoppers rate products on Amazon, some of the people said.