Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins/Futurism. Source: Getty Images
With many competing AI systems shutting down online application portals, applying for a new job in 2026 may feel more like applying for a bank loan than searching for a job.
At least, that’s what a group of disgruntled job seekers are claiming in a lawsuit against an AI screening company called Eightfold AI. According till new York TimesPlaintiffs allege that Eightfold’s employment screening software should have been subject to fair credit reporting act – Rules protecting information collected by consumer credit bureaus.
The reason, he says, can be found deep in Eightfold’s AI algorithms, which actively troll LinkedIn to create a data set of “1 million job titles, 1 million skills, and profiles of more than 1 billion people working in every job, profession, industry, and geography.” In turn, that data set is used marketing materials Helping you sell your services to potential customers.
Using an AI model trained on that data, Eightfold scores job applications on a scale of one to five based on their skills, experience and the hiring manager’s goals, the plaintiffs say. In short, their argument is that it’s not exactly unlike the opaque rules used to control consumer credit scores.
However, in the case of Eightfold, applicants have no way of knowing what their final score is, let alone the steps the system took to come up with it. This creates a “black box”: a situation where people subject to algorithmic decisions can only see System ResultNot the process that caused it. And if Eightfold’s AI starts making things up on the fly – an issue for which AI models are notorious – the job seeker has no way of knowing.
There is also the issue of data retention. With no way to peek under the hood, there’s no telling how much data Eightfold collects from job applicants’ resumes, or what the AI company and its customers are doing with it.
Erin Kistler, one of the plaintiffs, said, “I feel I am entitled to know what is being collected about me and shared with employers.” NYT. “And they’re not giving me any feedback, so I can’t address the issues.”
Kistler, who has decades of experience working in computer science, told the publication that he kept close track of every application sent in last year. Of the “thousands of jobs” he applied for, only 0.3 percent advanced to follow-up or interviews, he said.
All this underlines the sad state of the job market, which has become the stuff of dystopian nightmare thanks to AI hiring tools. Can the lawsuit gather enough momentum to challenge massive legal gray area The appointment of AI is yet to be seen. If this happens, it could bring relief to the hordes of frustrated job seekers whose careers are literally hanging in the balance.
Eightfold AI did not respond to this NYTRequest for comment.
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