Could your next job interview be with an AI bot?

Imagine taking part in a job interview not conducted by a human, but by an AI avatar. What might seem dystopian in concept is an increasing reality for some applicants. As employers face surging application numbers and a flood of AI-written CVs, companies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to screen candidates. And as workers flood into offices across the capital, the process of getting a job is increasingly being handed over to artificial intelligence. Bracing for the changes AI is driving in the job market, schools are incorporating it into their teaching. At London Enterprise Academy in East London, students are being taught about the opportunities and risks linked to AI tools as they prepare applications for sixth form (the two final years of secondary school in Britain) places and work experience opportunities. Teacher Mohammed Islam asks students whether they would trust a robot interviewer. Some students say AI can help candidates improve applications but still believe human interaction remains essential. “It does help people to get jobs, and it does help companies to hire people, but we also need humans to interview other people as well because robots don’t have actual feelings, and sometimes, they might not understand what they have to do, and it’s not as reliable as humans,” student Zara says. For growing numbers of applicants for jobs, the first interview may no longer be with a person. Instead, candidates are increasingly facing artificial intelligence-powered hiring systems designed to screen applications, verify identities, and assess answers before any human recruiter becomes involved. In a demonstration showing technology developed by Amsterdam-based hiring platform TestGorilla, an AI-generated avatar interviews an Associated Press reporter through a laptop screen. The system asks spoken questions, records verbal responses, and combines them with timed assessments, behavioral prompts, and identity verification checks. Candidates are asked to complete multiple-choice questions, answer spoken interview prompts, and verify their identity through facial biometric checks comparing their face against identification documents. TestGorilla says its AI interview systems are designed to replace some traditional screening calls, which recruiters say can consume large amounts of time when employers receive hundreds or thousands of applications for a single role. This article was provided by The Associated Press.