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Diagnostic tool
Five questions for your vendor
Every claim a vendor makes about an HR AI system is either contractual and evidenced, or it is marketing you have decided to believe. Five questions separate the two — and produce the email to send before you renew.
Question 01 · Documentation
Can the vendor produce documentation of what the system was trained on and what it should not be used for?
Not a brochure. Training data description, intended purpose, known limitations, performance metrics, update history.
Question 02 · Testing
Has the system been tested for disparate impact on your data, not theirs?
A vendor fairness report tests the vendor's population. Yours has different base rates, a different labor market, and different roles.
Question 03 · Contract
Are the vendor's assurances written into the contract?
This is the question that separates a control from a belief. An assurance you cannot enforce is marketing.
Question 04 · Logs
Can you retrieve a record of the decisions the system contributed to?
If a candidate or employee challenges an outcome, you need to reconstruct what the system produced and when.
Question 05 · Inference
Do you know everything the system derives, including outputs you did not ask for?
Vendor products frequently return extra scores by default — "engagement", "sentiment", "communication style", "soft skills". These are inferences about a person, whether or not you use them.
Indicative guidance only, based on your answers. Not a legal determination, a conformity assessment, or a substitute for advice from qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Regulatory requirements, effective dates, and enforcement practice change; verify current obligations before acting. Nothing you enter here is transmitted or stored.