AI in Job Interviews: Pros and Cons

Less than a decade ago, if someone said “In 2024, all job interviews will be conducted by artificial intelligence,” you might have wrote them off as being just a bit crazy; however, some companies are already using AI to help narrow down groups of candidates before further interviews take place, so it’s only a matter of time until that “crazy” prediction comes true. Here are the pros and cons of conducting job interviews using AI tools.

Pros

The first and most obvious advantage of implementing AI tools in job interviews is increased efficiency. While the typical human interviewer can probably conduct several interviews per day, they will be much slower when it comes to processing and analyzing the information gained from each candidate. On the other hand, AI tools can process information and responses gained from numerous candidates in a very short amount of time, greatly increasing the overall efficiency of the hiring process.

While conducting interviews, the hiring manager is aware of specific skills, experiences, and personality traits that the company is looking for in a candidate. The only problem here is human beings are not immune to making errors, and a momentary lapse in judgment or even a bad day can negatively impact the hiring process. AI tools will never forget or misinterpret a candidate’s responses, and can recall interviews that took place weeks, months, or even years ago with perfect accuracy. This level of consistency is extremely difficult for humans to achieve.

Another human trait that can sometimes influence the hiring process is bias. Biases can come in many forms, and in certain cases it’s possible that a hiring manager might be unaware of their own biases. AI tools can be programmed in such a way that they’re free from bias, leading to a more fair and balanced hiring process. Of course, the opposite is also true depending on the programming, but we’ll get into that a bit later.

Nowadays, lots of companies are looking for ways to cut costs. If the use of AI tools in job interviews becomes more widespread and companies can confidently rely upon their use, it could have a major impact on certain roles. For example, the role of a hiring manager could become as simple as extracting data from AI tools after automated interviews take place, leading to a decrease in the average salary. In other cases, the role could be eliminated altogether. Either way, the use of AI tools for interviews could be very attractive to a company that is trying to save money.

Cons

Earlier, we spoke about how AI tools can be programmed in such a way that they lack bias. If the AI is trained with data that is biased in any way, it could lead to unfair hiring practices. In the worst cases, an AI that has been trained with biased data could begin to act in ways that many would consider discriminatory. The point is, companies that wish to use AI tools in their hiring process must take care when training the AI, ensuring that it is free of bias.

Just as the hiring process can be affected by human error, companies can also run into problems if their AI tools start to malfunction. Yes friends, digital technology isn’t totally immune to glitches, and certain systems and tools can become outdated or experience performance issues if they aren’t maintained and updated at regular intervals. This is also true when it comes to AI tools.

The use of AI tools in job interviews may also raise ethical concerns. For example, certain candidates might feel uneasy about sharing personal and professional information with AI for privacy reasons, especially if they aren’t sure how the information is going to be used. These individuals may not want to take part in an interview with AI, leaving companies that are looking to hire new talent with less candidates to choose from.

Perhaps the most obvious downside to using AI tools in job interviews is that AI lacks the all-important human element. This can affect many aspects of the hiring process, such as deciding whether a candidate is a good fit for the company culture. Along with this, AI tools may focus primarily on a candidate’s technical qualifications, failing to take into account other important aspects of a candidate such as their ability to think creatively and adapt, or their emotional intelligence.

As more and more companies begin to leverage AI tools in their day-to-day operations, we may start to see the complete automation of a wide variety of processes. In time, the entire hiring process could be automated, from accepting applications all the way to onboard training. That said, it’s reasonable to believe that good companies will recognize both the benefits and the downsides to using AI tools, and will exercise caution as they implement such tools into their operations.