AI job interview turns into a troubling glitch: ‘I was really unsettled’

AI Recruiters and Job Interview Glitches Cause Stir Online

Job interviews can be tough, but when things go wrong with AI recruiters, it turns into a real mess.

A TikTok user, known as ken @ith_ken04, went viral after a bizarre incident during her interview with an AI system at the Stretch Lab in Ohio. The AI, from a startup named Apriora, malfunctioned, repeating the phrase “vertical barpilates” 14 times in just 25 seconds, creating an odd spiral of confusion.

“I found it really creepy and was quite surprised,” she shared in an interview, recalling her experience.

Initially, she didn’t see the humor in the glitch until she posted about it on TikTok. The positive comments from viewers changed her perspective.

“I was very shocked because it wasn’t something I did that caused the glitch,” she reflected.

Apriora, a startup backed by Y Combinator, promotes its AI platform as a way to “hire 87% faster” and conduct “93% cheaper interviews” by using a bot to handle multiple candidates at once. Yet, for Ken, her encounter felt more like a scene from “Black Mirror” than a technological marvel.

In her May 2 TikTok post, she described the experience as “really creepy and weird.” She humorously remarked, “It made sneaking up on me so bad” when reflecting on the reliance on AI for job functions.

The unsettling experience resonated with many on TikTok. Users shared their own horror stories about job hunting in a landscape increasingly influenced by AI.

“The company tried to send me to AI interviews for HR… why would I want to interact with a human being only to be evaluated by a robot?” one commenter expressed.

Another person reported, “I had an AI interview today and immediately closed the window. If they can’t even take the time for a human interview, I’m not applying there.”

This isn’t a new dilemma for job seekers; glitches like these in AI recruitment processes continue to create unease.

Recent reports indicate that nearly half of Gen Z job seekers believe their degrees are losing value due to technologies like ChatGPT. A survey found that 49% of Gen Z feel their education isn’t serving them well in today’s job market, with only 34% of millennials and 20% of baby boomers feeling the same.

Moreover, 44% of Gen Z college graduates expressed dissatisfaction with interviews that didn’t disclose salary ranges, often opting not to engage with certain recruiters.