In this episode, Leah speaks with Dr Natalie Sheard, a lawyer and McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Natalie has deep expertise in discrimination caused by AI systems, particularly in employment contexts, and her research explores how and where such bias occurs, its impacts, and the adequacy of current legal protections.

Natalie has been widely published in both domestic and international journals, as well as mainstream media, on topics including algorithm-facilitated discrimination, emotion recognition technologies, and AI regulation. Her outstanding research has been recognised through awards and scholarships, including the prestigious Nancy Millis Medal from La Trobe University.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Natalie’s career journey and how she came to specialise in researching AI-driven discrimination
• Insights from her recent research paper, including surprising findings
• How Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) often disadvantage non-traditional job seekers and specific groups most impacted
• The filters being applied within AI systems that perpetuate bias
• What needs to change to create a fairer hiring process for all applicants
• Practical steps job seekers can take to avoid being filtered out unfairly
• Natalie’s current projects and where her research is heading next

Links & Resources Mentioned

• AI may be exposing jobseekers to discrimination – here’s how we could better protect them (The Conversation)
• Will AI decide if you get your next job? Without legal regulation, you may never even know (The Conversation)
• Tech companies claim AI can recognise human emotions – but the science doesn’t stack up (The Conversation)
• Research paper in the Journal of Law and Society

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