Incorporating AI in the hiring process? Consider pros, cons, and questions

While the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace seems to grow by the day, at least some employers are tapping the brakes on using AI in some aspects of hiring. Turns out, employers are often finding that the problems they want AI to solve are sometimes being exaggerated by its use. But it’s not all trouble in AI “paradise.” Many experts see AI as a way to speed up hiring, reduce bias, and improve candidate quality and recruiter productivity.

AI shortcomings

Proponents of using AI in hiring are running up against some pushback as reports surface of big players, including Google and McKinsey, dialing back some uses of the latest technology and bringing back face-to-face interviews.

They’re seeing a major downside inherent in virtual interviews: jobseekers who take advantage of technology to cheat. Instead of thinking on their own during virtual interviews, AI enables them to bring up AI-generated material they can read verbatim without the interviewer realizing what’s going on.

Those responses may make an applicant seem qualified, even impressively so, but they don’t present a true picture of how well a candidate will perform once hired.

News accounts over the summer reported that both Google and McKinsey are tackling the problem by making sure candidates undergo at least some face-to-face interviews during which they must think on their feet.