Stanford Study: AI Hiring Tool Disadvantaged 26% of Black, 15% of Asian Applicants

Stanford University's Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) published a large-scale empirical study in May 2026 finding that an AI hiring tool disproportionately screened out Black and Asian applicants. Drawing on real data from a single vendor, the analysis covered roughly 3.4 million job seekers, 4 million applications, 156 companies, 1,700 job postings and 11 industries. It found that 26% of Black applicants and 15% of Asian applicants had applied to positions where their racial group faced adverse impact.