The use of AI is creating tension on both sides of hiring—from candidates leveraging the technology in order to “cheat” to employers using AI screening tools to weed out candidates en masse, which some allege, including in high-profile lawsuits, disadvantages certain job seekers. Now, there is a new dimension to the conversation: Employees helping job candidates sidestep AI filters to get closer to a job offer.
According to an internal document viewed by Bloomberg, members of Google DeepMind’s AGI Safety and Alignment Team advised internal candidates on their team to fill out a second form alongside their application to increase their chances of having their application viewed by a human.
“We have an applications system with a non-trivial probability your CV will be screened out incorrectly or take too long to reach us,” the team said in the document. “Filling out this form makes sure that a real human on the team will get to see your application.”
Pointedly, the language suggests candidates could be improperly screened out, raising doubt about the dependability of how Google is using AI in its hiring.
Trust issues on both sides of the hiring equation
The Google situation highlights the ongoing thorniness of building trust with job candidates in the age of AI.
According to recent research from Gartner, only about one-quarter of job candidates think AI tools will fairly evaluate their application, and nearly one-third are concerned the tech will screen them out of the hiring process. More than one-quarter said they trust a potential employer less if the organization uses AI in the job application process.
At the same time, employer use of AI of hiring is exploding: Resume Genius research finds that about 87% of U.S. hiring managers say they use AI, while nearly 60% say the tech helps them screen resumes. However, not all are forthcoming about how the tech is being deployed: About 20% don’t tell candidates how they’re using AI to make hiring decisions.
Mistrust related to AI use appears on both sides of the hiring equation: Gartner found that nearly 40% of job candidates say they used AI during the application process, most commonly to build their resume.
It’s a reality that the Google DeepMind researchers are aware of. According to Bloomberg, the secondary form the team sent to candidates warned them that “A real human will read” the application, and they should present the materials with limited AI usage. “These humans get really tired of reading LLM answers, because they all sound very same-y.”
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