A recruiter was left stunned after discovering a candidate was using AI during their interview.
Artificial intelligence tools are becoming more common for job seekers, helping with everything from writing resumes to applying for jobs. However, one candidate took it a step further and brought AI into his actual interview.
Bettina Liporazzi, the recruiting lead at letsmake.com was approached by a seemingly ordinary applicant. While their initial message was AI-generated, Liporazzi wasn't put off due to its prevalence in the job application process. But her suspicions rose when another candidate messaged her just an hour earlier with almost the same wording. She arranged a video interview to try and get a better idea about them.
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"They provided a name and an email to schedule the call, but when they joined, they weren't logged in to any email address," said Liporazzi. "They claimed their camera was broken, which is a common excuse. I insisted that having the camera on was required, and they left and rejoined the call twice, saying they had to restart their laptop."
Each time they joined, Google claimed they weren't signed in and flagged them as possibly 'not who they claim to be.'
When the candidate finally put their camera on, on the third attempt, Liporazzi quickly noticed they were using an 'AI face filter to hide their real identity.'
Liporazzi added: "So, I asked them to place a hand in front of their face as it would remove their AI cover. They didn't do it and left the call a few seconds later."
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Describing the whole situation as a 'creepy experience,' the recruiter shared footage of the video call on LinkedIn to 'raise awareness' of using such technology.
Following the incident, Liporazzi shared a few simple tricks to help recruiters avoid falling for AI imposters. These include asking candidates to turn their face to the side, keeping their camera on, and removing virtual backgrounds or filters.
However, tech experts say it's getting harder to tell the difference between what's real and what's 'deepfake.' In response, Ben Colman, co-founder and CEO of Reality Defender, a deepfake detection company, explained that recruiters need 'practical strategies to verify authentic human interaction' during calls.
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"Look for inconsistencies in facial movements, particularly around the eyes and mouth, unnatural voice cadence, or delayed responses to unexpected questions," he said. "The most effective approach combines technical verification - like requesting candidates to perform specific real-time actions - with organisational protocols that incorporate detection tools."