‘It’s very objective’: Billionaire Marc Lore’s Wonder uses an AI algorithm to determine who gets promoted

Wonder, a food-tech company founded by billionaire Marc Lore, has implemented an AI-powered performance management system to determine employee promotions. At least twelve coworkers rate an employee on performance, behaviors, and leadership qualities every six months, feeding their ratings and written feedback into the system. In addition, an AI calculates a "value above replacement," or VAR, score, which measures how challenging it would be to replace an employee with someone at the same level.

The system combines the performance management score and VAR to calculate whether an employee should be promoted. The algorithm is considered objective, with human management able to override it if necessary, but such instances are becoming less frequent as the model becomes more accurate. Lore believes the standardized system reduces personal bias and potential discrimination against women and minority employees, promoting fairness in promotions.

The AI system aligns with Lore's philosophy of making complex business decisions using numbers, as seen in his entrepreneurial past. The company, which operates 135 food halls across ten East Coast states, plans to go public early next year and is incorporating automation into its kitchens, such as an automated bowl-making system capable of producing 500 bowls per hour, compared to 45 by a human worker.