New research from Greenhouse shows that of all the regions surveyed, Ireland-based jobseekers had the worst opinion of AI in the interview process.

New research published by hiring platform Greenhouse has shown that compared to other countries, jobseekers looking for new career opportunities in Ireland have had the worst experiences of and harbour the lowest opinions of the use of artificial intelligence in workplace interviews. 

Greenhouse conducted a multi-market survey of 2,950 candidates, including 78 Ireland-based workers alongside respondents from the US, UK, Germany and Australia.

Of those who participated in the research, 36pc of Ireland-based people said that they have taken part in an AI-run interview. 27pc said that they walked away from an opportunity to interview due to the inclusion of AI and a further 23pc said this would also be their response if faced with a non-human interviewer. 

More than half of those who participated in the Irish survey said an AI interview left them with a worse view of the employer, and Greenhouse’s research suggests that when it comes to AI interviews, “the first wave has failed on transparency, trust and candidate experience”. 

Transparent AI

Greenhouse’s research found that the primary problem is not that candidates are rejecting AI as a whole – rather, they object to how it is being used. Of those who have experienced an AI interview, 86pc were never told upfront that there would be an AI evaluator, and one in five (21pc) only discovered the use of AI once the interview had begun. Only 12pc believe that employers are using AI responsibly. 

Despite only one in 10 Irish job applicants agreeing that employers have a clearly set-out AI policy, 60pc believe disclosure should be a legal requirement. Many are pro-AI, however, if the interview process were to include significant guardrails, such as the option to request a human interviewer instead (49pc), knowing that a human reviews AI’s evaluation before any decision is made (37pc), and being told upfront that AI is involved (33pc). 

Candidates also want proof that the system they are using is accountable; 27pc want a clear explanation of what the AI is measuring and 23pc want evidence that the tool has been audited for bias. 

When correctly approached, 20pc of Ireland-based candidates who took part in an AI interview found that they had a more positive view of the employer. However, 53pc came away with a more negative perception of the company, the highest negative sentiment of any market surveyed. 

The research suggests that the biggest triggers for Irish candidates walking away from the process include companies failing to disclose how AI would be used (26pc), pre-recorded video interviews scored by AI with no human present (18pc) and AI monitoring during the process (15pc).

Among those who completed an AI interview, just 9pc moved forward to the next round, while 30pc were formally rejected and 39pc never heard back.

Commenting on the report, Daniel Chait, the CEO and co-founder of Greenhouse, said, “Most AI in hiring today is making a bad system worse – more applications, less signal and less transparency. But the process AI is being built on top of was already broken. 

“Nobody likes writing CVs and filling out clunky job applications. Candidates want a better way to get seen and companies want a better way to find the right people. A 15-minute conversation with an AI where a candidate can show who they are is a better front door than a keyword-stuffed CV. That’s not going to come from layering AI on top of a broken process. It’s going to come from building a better one.”

Sharawn Tipton, chief people officer at Greenhouse, added, “Candidates are telling us exactly what they want and it isn’t complicated – tell them when AI is in the room and what it’s measuring. Right now, most employers are failing that test.

“And let’s not pretend. AI isn’t fixing bias, it’s scaling it. Candidates can feel that, and when they walk away, it’s not just a missed hire, it’s a reputation problem that compounds. Until we get honest about what these tools are actually measuring and own it when they get it wrong, we’re just repackaging the same problem.”

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