A California tech company’s extreme use of AI for recruiting has earned backlash. It’s no news that many companies use AI to determine who they employ. However, several people think that this company crossed the line when it let AI interview a candidate instead of a human.
The interviewee filmed a video of the virtual interview, which was posted on Reddit. The clip, captioned “Ain’t no way we’re actually doing AI Interviews now,” displayed the candidate’s computer screen. Half of the screen showed him in a suit facing the camera, while the other half was blank, with the profile picture of a lady.
Noticeable at the top of the screen were the words, “Vercel AI Virtual Interview | Front-End Developer Intern-Level Summer 25.” The video opened up with the applicant explaining his experience. When he was done, the automated voice acknowledged the applicant before asking about his availability for the summer.
However, the interview didn’t turn out well. Halfway through, there appeared to be a malfunction. The automated voice glitched, repeating a sentence like, “Now let’s discuss what your pay is like.”
Unsurprisingly, the video sparked outrage among Redditors, with many criticising the company and describing the interview as dehumanizing. This user penned a lengthy statement blasting the organization.
“Seen a handful of these in the last few days. If they’re legit, I think they’re absolutely shameful,” criticized the user. “That’s all the Al is doing anyway. Oh, except the Al is making the interviewee feel subhuman. What a fantastic start to joining the company!”
The user concluded by encouraging that companies involved should be called out. “Name and shame the companies doing this. Automation is gradually becoming a fact of life. Fine, but this is not the way to go about it at all,” they wrote.
Another critic replied, concurring with the idea that the interviewee was treated less humanely. The critic wrote, “The Al is making the interviewee feel subhuman. That’s the goal. Just another way to pressure the candidate into agreeing to worse terms.”
An angry netizen lashed out, “This is dehumanizing and insulting. You don’t want to spend the time vetting me, and I don’t want to spend the time helping you train your dumb Al recruiter.”
A fourth Redditor added, “Al interviews feel so cold and inhuman, like you’re being judged by a robot, not a person.”
While it’s not yet confirmed if the video was real or edited, recruiters and companies should take heed against using AI to interview candidates.
