Checkr's mission is to build a fairer future by designing technology to create opportunities for all. We believe all candidates, regardless of who they are, should have a fair chance to work. Established in 2014 and valued at $5B, Checkr is using technology to bring hiring to the next level. Our People Trust Platform uses machine learning to help thousands of companies modernize their background check process and make hiring safer, more efficient, and more inclusive. Some of our customers include Uber, Instacart, Doordash, Netflix, Compass Group, and Adecco.

Unemployment in May reached its highest levels since the Great Depression, but companies like Postmates and Uber have continued to hire new workers during the pandemic. If you're interested in this kind of gig, however, there's a good chance you'll need to pass an AI-powered background check from a company like Checkr. This might not be as easy as it sounds. Checkr is on the forefront of a new and potentially problematic kind of hiring, one that's powered by still-emerging technology. Those hoping to quickly get extra work complain that Checkr and others using AI to do background checks aren't addressing errors and mistakes on their criminal records reports.

The Virginia-based law firm Consumer Litigation Associates has represented several clients suing Checkr. In their complaints, the firm's attorneys write that documents released during discovery will show that Checkr uses "webscrape technology" to gather records from court and county websites and then "compiles this information, without checking the accuracy of its computerized record gathering and populates the information into reports … with no human being involved in the compiling, matching, and reporting of criminal-history information."

In the wake of Amazon's hiring debacle involving an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered recruiter discriminating against women, experts maintain that machines themselves aren't biased -- they're only mirroring and amplifying cultural biases in the real world. The solution to shoddy machine learning, these experts say, is deceptively simple: better data. Worldwide spending on cognitive and artificial intelligence (AI) systems reached an estimated $19 billion, almost doubling the amount from 2017, according to research firm IDC. The promise of AI technology has spawned a race between the U.S. and China, both fighting for the title of global leader. According to a report by PwC, the industry is expected to boost U.S. GDP by 14.5% by 2030 -- second only to China, which is expected to see a 26.1% boost.

In this series, The Way We Work, Entrepreneur Associate Editor Lydia Belanger examines how people foster productivity, focus, collaboration, creativity and culture in the workplace. If your criminal record is a clean slate, you probably don't think too much about background checks. But probability suggests it's almost certain that someone you work with has one. What constitutes a criminal record can range from minor to major crimes, from fishing without a license to speeding to driving under the influence to murder. But historically, some background check processes haven't distinguished among offenses of varying degrees. The Ban the Box movement has pushed to remove the "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?"

If someone commits a crime away from their home state, a screener could miss a conviction. Records might be missing, outdated, or incorrect. Both humans and machines can misread court documents, or erroneously include convictions for someone with the same name. But the pair argue that machines are better than humans at sifting through documents. Checkr has faced lawsuits under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which gives people the right to dispute inaccurate information found in background checks.

The rise of on-demand startups and other fast-growing businesses like online marketplaces has created a need for reliable ways to verify new hires and customers to make sure they are cut out for the task. Onfido, one of the group of startups building software-based solutions to do just that, has raised 25 million to meet that need. The Series B round was led by Idinvest Partners, with participation also from existing backers Wellington Partners and CrunchFund (founded by TC founder Michael Arrington), and brings the total raised by the startup to just over 30 million. It's not disclosing its valuation in this round, but as a marker, its competitor Checkr, which has raised just under 50 million, is valued between 250 million and 300 million. Onfido plans to use the capital in a couple of different ways.