Since 2010, I’ve been thinking, writing, and talking about how AI might change the world of HR and recruiting. I remember the first conference talk I heard on the subject. Funny to think it was the only session on AI then, especially now that every conference is littered with them. The speaker suggested virtual reality for trade assessments. I was so excited to see what might happen next that seven years later, I was still talking about it. I decided to make it the subject of my my first DisruptHR. My topic? I Want It That Way: Potential Of AI For HR & Recruiting.

If you just caught that Backstreet Boys song reference, yes, this was an entirely BSB themed presentation. But the theme and even the concepts to suggest weren’t the hard part. It was figuring out how to condense a ton of ideas into the format: 20 slides with only 15 seconds spent on each slide. I spent days and weeks practicing the soundbites. With just 15 seconds to explain your point before the slide moves on, a soundbite is all you get.

Watching this video back today, I have a lot of thoughts. (You can watch it here.) First, this feels like a lifetime ago. Look at my baby face! I can also tell how excited and anxious I was. Even with 15 seconds per slide, I was talking too fast. But the thought I just can’t shake? Half of these ideas still seem far-fetched in this “fast-paced world.” (AI loves that damn phrase.)

AI For HR And Recruiting In 2017

You can watch the five-minute presentation and “aw” at my baby face. If you’re in tl;dr mode, here are the ideas and predictions I made.

• Everyone should know AI isn't unique information. It's your intelligence. Your brain, your data, is what powers the machine. It’s not generating original content.
• The future candidate looks like a kid that has a broken phone in their hands. They want high tech, high touch experiences.
• My ideas on AI for HR and recruiting: chatbots for pre-screening unqualified applicants; predictive content for talent communities i.e. spitting out jobs, posts, etc.; skill tests in virtual reality; interview dashboards for candidates; 360 virtual tours of offices pre-hire; talent mobility; and finally, one click address change with notifications for state to state differences.

That last one was because I had just moved and damn I was so tired of filling out address change forms. I thought we’d be a lot farther along by now in our application of AI in HR and recruiting. That somehow it would be a default, not a discovery at this point.

My Predictions On AI For HR And Recruiting: The Next 5 Years

That’s why I don’t trust anyone that calls themselves an expert in AI at this point. We’re still in discovery mode. Calling yourself an expert in AI is like saying you’re an expert in air or water. Too big of a bucket. I am definitely not an AI expert, even with 14 years of thinking about this.

I do have some predictions for the next 5 years. Hell - whether I’m wrong or right? I can use this for content later. It just won’t be as fun because it’s not Backstreet Boys themed.

1. High-touch assessments. With the evolution of AI generated resumes and robots that can game interviews, the industry will be forced to figure out assessments. I really pray it’s not more biased and circumstantial than all the ways we do it now. In my dream world, we’d have some kind of custom assessments by department and level. Let people choose. No matter what, they get feedback.
2. A Human In The Loop shift. Smart teams are going to look at where they have the most efficient processes and start automation there while always keeping a human in the loop to manage that process. Reminder: You can’t automate a broken process. Don’t start there when it comes to AI solutions.
3. Intelligent pre-screening. I don’t think there’s a universal best in class answer here, but job application bots have created a need for something that screens unqualified candidates out. Something that says: “If you auto applied to 400 jobs at once, reject that shit.” Captcha for applications. E-verification. Something.
4. Death of the asynchronous interview. Yeah, I said it. Candidates hate it because for most of them, sitting in front of a machine and talking to no one about generic questions isn’t their job. It’s not a good way to assess people and I’m confident whatever “smart” measurement systems they’re using to score people are biased as hell.

What predictions would you add? Leave a comment and you’ll be part of the next recap when I realize I was wrong/right.