If you use AI to negotiate your next salary, a new study suggests your gender could change the advice you get.
Researchers with Harvard and MIT looked at 86,000 AI responses and gave the models identical job candidates who were identified as either male or female.
According to the study, all four AI models tested recommended higher salary targets for men. Researchers also found that women were more often steered toward things like flexible hours and parental leave, while men were directed toward salary increases and stock options.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Job hopping no longer carries the stigma it once did, career experts say
The findings indicate that while AI systems are often viewed as tools that can reduce inequalities and level the playing field, those same systems may reinforce traditional gender roles.
“As AI increasingly informs professional decision-making, understanding how these systems reflect and shape human preferences and aspirations will be critical for ensuring that technological progress advances, rather than constrains, equal opportunity,” researchers wrote.
The researchers said the findings add to the growing discussion about the societal impacts of personalized AI and how these systems can influence people’s decisions and opportunities on a broader scale.