Reshare — content from Matthieu Penet
I believe AI is forcing the entire recruitment world to turn off its brain.
Right now, collectively.
I just spoke with a few players positioned in AI voice pre-screening, and apparently, nearly 40-50% of candidates flatly refuse the interview with the machine.
And… nobody cares.
The logic is “we make do with it, it’ll probably improve over time.”
Sorry, but no.
Since when is imposing something nobody wants until people get tired and give up an acceptable strategy? (Are we in recruitment or in politics?)
There’s such an insane FOMO to deploy AI everywhere as fast as possible that companies are okay with halving their funnel flow just to put in AI and be able to claim they’re in the future.
Yet all the numbers (the unbiased ones, mind you 
) all point the same way:
40% of candidates say they have already walked away from an imposed AI interview, 12% do so systematically according to Greenhouse
As Laurent Brouatt said, those who say no are the best profiles, the very ones who find (rightly so) the process “degrading” (the words of the Gartner study)
77% of candidates develop a deteriorated image of the company the minute it uses AI to recruit
The problem is that everyone is looking at the wrong numbers: a company that deploys an automated system, the first month will say “wow, we cut recruitment time from 40 to 20 days,” and everyone will find that great on a slide without really knowing the real-world consequence.
Reality hits 5 months later when turnover explodes, managers are in distress and nobody can explain why.
Yet the reason is simple: the prospects who stayed in your funnel are those who can’t afford to say no to the humiliation of interacting with the bot.
Suddenly you’re no longer recruiting based on fit for the role, you’re doing it based on urgency, on constraint, with profiles who will go elsewhere as soon as they find better, given that the first thing you showed them in your process is how little you consider them.
And all of that… for what?
What advantage? What benefit?
We don’t know.
LinkedIn Sources
- Profile: Pierre Jean Duvivier aka Sage (LinkedIn)
- Shared author: Matthieu Penet (LinkedIn)
The post I believe AI is forcing the entire recruitment world to turn off its brain. appeared first on les plumes qui mordent.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs AI Is Forcing Everyone in Recruitment to Turn Off Their Brain
1 What does AI is making recruiters turn off their brain actually mean
Its the concern that recruiters rely so heavily on AI toolsscreening ranking sourcingthat they stop thinking critically and just accept whatever the algorithm says
2 Is AI really replacing human judgment in hiring
No AI speeds up tasks like sorting resumes and scheduling but it cant assess nuance culture fit or context the way a person can The risk is when people let it replace their judgment
3 Why do recruiters lean on AI so much
Volume and speed When there are hundreds of applicants and tight deadlines automated screening feels like the only way to keep up
4 Whats the biggest danger of overrelying on AI in recruitment
Bias and missed talent AI learns from historical data so it can repeat past biases and good candidates get filtered out because they dont match the algorithms pattern
5 Can AI screening tools be biased
Yes If theyre trained on biased data they can quietly favor or exclude the same kinds of people
6 What is automation bias
Its the human tendency to trust a machines output over our own judgmentespecially when were busy or the tool seems objective
7 How do I know if Im overrelying on AI
Warning signs you cant explain why a candidate was rejected you skip reviewing flagged profiles or you accept rankings without checking the resumes yourself
8 Should I stop using AI in recruitment altogether
No Use it for what its good atadmin scheduling firstpass sortingand keep humans in charge of decisions that affect peoples lives
9 Whats a practical way to keep my brain switched on
Spotcheck the AIs work Review a random sample of rejected candidates ask the tool why it ranked someone low and compare its picks to your own shortlist
10 How do I audit an AI hiring tool for bias
Run test candidates with identical qualifications but different names or backgrounds and compare outcomes Also ask vendors for bias audits and check outcomes by demographic group over time
