Recruiters and recruiting technology vendors have committed themselves to incorporating advanced technology into their processes. But a sizable majority of candidates say they’d feel uncomfortable using an AI-based interview app during the screening process.
A Harris Poll conducted on behalf of outsourcing firm Yoh found that 88 percent of Americans would be leery of participating in an AI-driven interview. Overall, 55 percent would prefer an in-person interview.
A Harris Poll finds that 88 percent of Americans are leery of participating in AI-driven job interviews. #HR #HRTech @YohCorporate Click To TweetThis isn’t a case of older workers being leery of new technology. Younger generations are just as uncomfortable with the idea of AI interviews as older generations. Eighty-nine percent of Americans aged 18 to 34 said they’d be uncomfortable interviewing through an AI app, almost exactly the same proportion of those 35 and older (88 percent).
AI Recruiting Qualms
Many objections centered around the technology’s perceived limitations. Nearly half of the respondents, or 48 percent, said they don’t trust AI to accurately interpret human cues and emotions. Forty-four percent believe biometric readings could be misinterpreted so that, for example, nervousness was seen as dishonesty.
Meanwhile, a quarter of the respondents worried about the potential for discrimination. Twenty percent were afraid their likeness would be stolen.
Others believe the technology would put them at some sort of disadvantage. Thirty-eight percent noted they wouldn’t be able to see the interviewer’s reaction, 31 percent said wouldn’t feel they could be themselves and 29 percent said they’d be too self-conscious.
Yoh, of course, likes the idea of relying on human recruiters, but President Emmett McGrath does see a supporting role for technology in screening. “At this point, it should be used only to augment the skill and insights that an experienced recruiter and/or interviewer brings to the hiring process,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Yoh’s funded research that found Americans don’t like to have AI involved in hiring. In May, the company and Harris released a study that said 69 percent of Americans believe AI shouldn’t play any role at all in certain parts of the process. Specifically, they want AI kept out of selecting candidates to be hired (42 percent), conducting virtual job interviews (32 percent) and assessing a candidate’s honesty.
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