The Dystopian Rise of AI Job Interviews: When Algorithms Decide Your Career
Looking for a new job has always been stressful, but recent developments in hiring practices are taking things to an unsettling new level. While scrolling through tech forums during my lunch break at a cafe near Flinders Street, I stumbled upon numerous discussions about HireVue, an AI-powered interview platform that’s becoming increasingly prevalent in government recruitment.
The concept is straightforward but troubling: instead of speaking with an actual human being, job candidates record themselves answering predetermined questions. The system then analyses everything from voice patterns to facial expressions, supposedly determining if you’re a “good fit” for the role. It’s like something straight out of Black Mirror, except it’s happening right now.
My son recently graduated from university, and the thought of him facing these algorithmic gatekeepers makes my blood boil. What happened to the fundamental human element of recruitment? The nuanced back-and-forth of a real conversation, the ability to ask questions, or simply to connect with another person?
The companies behind these systems claim they’ve moved away from facial recognition, but the waters are murky at best. Even without facial analysis, the amount of personal data being collected and processed is staggering. Every pause, every word choice, every subtle variation in tone – all fed into a black box algorithm that spits out judgments with zero transparency or scientific validation.
Working in tech myself, I’ve seen firsthand how AI can be both revolutionary and problematic. While I embrace technological progress (typing this on my MacBook at my favourite Carlton coffee spot), there’s something fundamentally wrong about outsourcing human connection to untested algorithms. It’s particularly jarring to see government agencies, which should be setting standards for fairness and transparency, embracing these tools.
The privacy implications are equally concerning. In an era where data breaches are commonplace, these recordings and analyses are sitting in servers, waiting to be compromised. Remember the Optus breach? Now imagine that level of personal information, but with video recordings of millions of job seekers.
The defence that this technology makes hiring more efficient or objective is laughable. How can an algorithm possibly understand the complex interplay of skills, experience, and potential that makes someone right for a role? It’s like trying to understand a Tim Winton novel by counting the words – you’re missing all the nuance that matters.
Some organisations claim they only use these tools for the initial screening, but that’s arguably when human judgment is most crucial. Early career professionals, people from diverse backgrounds, or those who might be brilliant at their jobs but less comfortable with video performances – they’re all potentially being filtered out by an algorithm that nobody fully understands.
The silver lining? There’s growing pushback against these practices. More candidates are speaking up, requesting traditional interviews, and questioning the validity of these systems. Some companies are already reconsidering their use of AI-driven hiring tools, recognising that the human element in recruitment isn’t just nice to have – it’s essential.
For now, my advice to anyone faced with a HireVue interview is simple: ask for a human interview instead. Your career shouldn’t be determined by an algorithm that can’t explain its decisions. We need to push back against this trend before it becomes the norm, or we might find ourselves in a world where getting a job depends not on your abilities, but on how well you can perform for an AI.
But here’s hoping that common sense prevails, and we remember that hiring is fundamentally about human connection. Technology should enhance our capabilities, not replace our humanity.