One man had a shock when he turned up for a job interview to discover an AI avatar was the one who was going to be interviewing him.
The use of Large Language Models, or LLMs, in business has seen a massive increase over the past couple of years. This new use of “AI” tech has not been met with universal praise, however. Some are concern for its affect on the environment, or on the livelihoods of artist and writers. Others find it just plain creepy.
Such was the case when marketer Jack Ryan sat down for a job interview and found himself facing an evaluation conducted by an AI-powered female avatar.
Ryan posted a clip of the experience to his LinkedIn page, which showed a red-haired avatar asking him about his work experience, suggesting that he ‘get creative’ with his answers. He was not impressed by the process, describing it as: “a perfect demonstration of late-stage capitalism.”
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The AI avatar was developed by an AI startup company called Fairgo, which is based in Melbourne, Australia. Julian Bright, CEO of Fairgo told 404 Media that the AI is designed to reduce human bias, and that the AI was not involved in the candidate selection process. Nor is any video or audio taken during the process for evaluation.
If this statement is indeed accurate, it does raise the question on what the purpose of the AI avatar actually is.
Ryan condemned the use of such AI-powered screening, saying: “As someone who has interviewed upwards of 50 candidates for prior roles, human connection and interaction is the single most important indicator of how a team will mesh and jive together. If an AI is running the early stage process, it eliminates potential candidates because of its algorithmic design.”
AI avatars such as the nameless redhead created by Fairgo can elicit strong negative reactions from people. This is partially due to the 'uncanny valley’ effect, where people react badly to anything that appears almost, but not quite, human in form. Early CGI had this problem, and now AI models are experiencing it too.
Ultimately, however, the focus should be on the impact that the use of tools like this one will have on the future workplace. Ryan had strong views on the subject, saying: “It shows how executives and corporations are further trying to cut costs on the human side of business. As someone who has seen these layoffs at numerous top tech companies that then go on to rehire 6-12-18 months later... it's laughable at best and terrifying at worst.”