In March 2025, an employee of the software company Intuit claimed that its use of an automated video interview platform unfairly blocked her promotion. She blamed AI-driven biases related to her disability and race. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed charges on her behalf against Intuit and HireVue, the tech firm she said used AI in a discriminatory way. Both clearly denied the accusation. Intuit stated that it provides reasonable accommodations to all applicants. HireVue denied that Intuit even used AI in this hiring process.¹ 

Law firm Fisher Phillips say this emphasizes the need for organizations using AI hiring tools to conduct regular accessibility audits, review vendor agreements, train their HR teams about potential AI biases and legal requirements, and allow for human review during an interview process. They should offer clear and simple pathways for applicants needing accommodations. And they should monitor and adjust AI usage to address potential biases. 

Given the stakes, should boards get involved in guiding AI use in the firm's talent management strategy? Let’s recall that a board’s core activities concern Control (protecting shareholder wealth), and Service, helping the firm create value, aligning shareholder and societal interests.² 

Even if boards should not directly interfere in executive operations, recruitment automation and talent intelligence platforms do belong on their agenda, says Jamal Khan, Managing Partner of Amrop Carmichael Fisher in Australia. “From a governance perspective, boards should be asking the CEO: what’s being done in the business, and does that pose a risk? And strategically, how can we streamline processes and get better hires? Not meddling, but making sure that the CEO is across that.” Despite a counter-shift under the current US administration, DE&I is being upheld in many markets. Diversity matters. “Firms need to look at recruitment biases, and the risks attached.” 

“Beyond recruitment, there's privacy, data protection, cybersecurity,” he continues. “We're seeing a massive uptick from chairs, nomination, governance and HR committees around reviewing the board’s skills matrix. We’re seeing a lot of demand for people with AI, cybersecurity, and digital transformation experience.”  

Who is ultimately accountable? 

An NED should never be a technocrat. But boards do need to be hotwired into AI specialists such as the CIAO or equivalent - even if they are external.  As we saw in our first article of the series ‘I Am Not a Robot’, this senior executive must drive AI quality and integrity across the organizational spectrum - including the way it identifies and hires its leaders. 

Amrop has been researching 'digitization on boards ' for nearly a decade.³ Board understanding of AI in executive hiring is still conversational, rather than literate. “They understand the elements,” says Job Voorhoeve, leader of Amrop's Global Digital Practice. “Some use ChatGPT. The issue is around boards using AI in processes. How it will create risks. So there's an educational part towards the board concerning the proper use of AI in executive search.” Their chosen executive search firm must also use technology legally, ethically and responsibly. 

As the Intuit/HireVue case demonstrates, any hint of sub-optimal deployment or misuse of AI exposes a hiring organization to legal or reputational fallout. A board needs to be on top of the key milestones in AI integration, including its purpose in the organization. “And then, operationally, it goes to the functional areas and heads,” says Costa Tzavaras, Director of Amrop's Global Programs. Mismanagement in the ranks may ignite a crisis - one that the board doesn’t fully understand because of obscurity surrounding the way AI has evolved in the firm. In this case, they will have difficulty formulating a swift and credible response.  

“Risk frameworks are not 100% reliable because of the uncertainty in business. You need to install models to navigate a crisis,” says Amrop Board Member Oana Ciornei. When it comes to AI in board-level recruitment strategy, she asks board candidates whether they have a trusted and diverse entourage. Even if their organization is not currently undergoing large-scale AI transformation, “you need a solid network to develop yourself in the areas where you are not educated enough.” 

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Read our full report: I Am Not a Robot III: The Board and the Horizon