--- title: "Man Baffled When He Shows Up for Job Interview and the Interviewer Is an AI Avatar" description: "When being evaluated for a job, one employment-seeker found himself being interviewed by an artificial intelligence avatar." date: "2024-10-01" modified: "2024-10-01" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/man-baffled-ai-avatar-interviewer" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai avatars" - "job market" - "labor" - "the digest" --- # Man Baffled When He Shows Up for Job Interview and the Interviewer Is an AI Avatar ![When being evaluated for a job, one employment-seeker found himself being interviewed by an artificial intelligence avatar.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Tell Me a Story When being evaluated for a job, employment seeker and marketer Jack Ryan found himself being interviewed by an artificial intelligence-powered avatar — and was not exactly thrilled with the experience. Ryan told [*404 Media*]() that the avatar he interviewed with, which was developed by a Melbourne-based AI startup called Fairgo, was "a perfect demonstration of late-stage capitalism." "While Fairgo's intent is to provide a fair and equitable interview process," Ryan said, "I can't imagine AI, \[large language models\], and other tools are able to interpret the human emotion and facial reactions to provide an actual, well-rounded interview." In a [clip posted to his LinkedIn]() last week, the Silicon Valley-based marketer and self-described disabled athlete was seen smirking as the red-haired female avatar asked him for his work experience and encouraged him to get creative. "I find it helps when candidates tell me a story in answering the questions," the avatar, which does not appear to have a name, said robotically. It's a perfect encapsulation of the kind of [uncanniness many said the age of AI would usher in]() — except, of course, far more banal. ## Disability Matters On its [website](), the startup claims that candidates interviewed by Fairgo avatars "consistently love the interview experience" — but Ryan very much disagrees. "As a disabled individual who is reliant on remote work, I am already concerned about openly stating I am disabled in the forms that companies put at the end of their job applications," he explained to *404*. "To add an AI component into this mix, I imagine, would have the opposite effect of \[diversity, equity, and inclusion\]." Fairgo's CEO Julian Bright insisted in his own interview with *404* that his company's AI is actually there to help *reduce* human bias. Furthermore, Bright maintained that Fairgo's AI is not at all involved in the candidate selection process and that it does not use any video or audio taken during the process to evaluate candidates. All the same, being interviewed by an AI avatar seems to have left a bad taste in Ryan's mouth. "As someone who has interviewed upwards of 50 candidates for prior roles, human connection and interaction is the single most important indicator of how a team will mesh and jive together," he said. "If an AI is running the early stage process, it eliminates potential candidates because of its algorithmic design." At the end of the day, using a service like Fairgo's "shows how executives and corporations are further trying to cut costs on the human side of business," Ryan said. "As someone who has seen these layoffs at numerous top tech companies that then go on to rehire 6-12-18 months later... it's laughable at best and terrifying at worst," he concluded. We can't say we didn't smirk along with Ryan — but that's only to keep ourselves from crying. **More on AI and labor:** [*In Leaked Audio, Amazon Cloud CEO Says Human Developers Will Soon Be a Thing of the Past*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()