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AI Case Study

Uber conducts background checks on its drivers using Checkr's AI platform

Checkr uses advanced artificial intelligence technology to better classify records without jeopardizing compliance and sources data from a variety of sources

Industry

Transportation

Other

Project Overview

"Through Continuous Check, Checkr is creating a new standard of safety for the [gig economy], and beyond that will provide critical insight into changes in someone’s background that may affect their eligibility to work.”

When Continuous Check identifies that an employee was involved in criminal activity, like a new or pending charge for a DUI, it notifies the worker’s employer, who can investigate further. That’s heaps better than the current arrangement — as many gig economy employers only rerun background checks once a year.

Continuous Check was co-developed with Uber, Yanisse said, and the ridesharing company is the first to deploy it. It’ll roll out to the rest of Checkr’s clients later this year.

“Safety is essential to Uber, and we want to ensure drivers continue to meet our standards on an ongoing basis,” said Uber VP Gus Fuldner. “This new continuous checking technology will strengthen our screening process and improve safety.”

According to Wired,
"Gathering data and documents from multiple agencies and databases is just one step in the process. Once arrest records, court documents, and other files are pulled, someone has to sift through the information to suss out what someone was arrested for, whether they were charged, and whether they were convicted. Perichon points out that because state laws vary, what's described as felony shoplifting in one place might be treated differently elsewhere.

Checkr attempts to streamline this process by pulling as much information as it can automatically and feeding it into a machine learning system. Documents gathered in-person by contractors are likewise fed into its system. The company works with lawyers to train its algorithms. The result is a system the founders say can summarize disparate documents and identify convictions more quickly than any human.

Checkr has faced lawsuits under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which gives people the right to dispute inaccurate information found in background checks. "

Reported Results

The company claims:

* Automated background checks
* Detects problems that are not detected in traditional checks

Technology

Function

Risk

Security

Background

"In Massachusetts in 2017, more than 8,000 ridesharing drivers failed a state background check for infractions like license suspensions, sexual offenses, and violent crimes."
"Uber had failed to detect the criminal records of 25 drivers it had hired in Los Angeles and San Francisco according to a civil suit"

Benefits

Data

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