What started as a few TikToks showing robotic job interviews has snowballed into a grim snapshot of how hiring is changing. Videos of jobseekers talking to glitchy artificial intelligence “interviewers” are popping up across social media; some staged, some real, all eerily close to what candidates are actually experiencing.
A recent Slate report detailed several such encounters and showed just how far companies are willing to automate the hiring process. Among those interviewed was Kendiana Colin, a student at Ohio State University, who applied for a job at a stretching studio near Columbus. Instead of speaking with a human, she found herself face-to-face with an AI bot named Alex that became stuck on the phrase “vertical-bar Pilates,” repeating it over and over with unsettling enthusiasm.
A TikTok that made the rounds this month shows a bot stuck in a loop of corporate filler: “Tell me about a time when... when... let’s. Let’s circle back.” The video’s creator, Leo Humphries, dressed in a suit and tie for what he thought would be a conversation with a hiring manager. Instead, he spent the interview trying to talk over a malfunctioning script.
@leohumpsalot I WAS SO HAPPY YALL 😭😭😭😭 #fyp #jobs #jobsearch #ai ♬ original sound - Leo Humps
Although he never got a chance to answer a question, the bot thanked him afterward for “answering the questions” and praised his “great information.” An email followed shortly after, addressed to someone else, informing him the company would be moving forward with other candidates.
Many viewers assumed the clips were comedy sketches, especially with some creators openly posting satire. But behind the jokes is a growing reality: automated interviews are creeping into the mainstream hiring process. Companies like Apriora, the startup behind the “vertical-bar Pilates” incident, sell AI interviewers to businesses as cheaper, faster screening tools.
Apriora founder Aaron Wang told Forbes in 2023 that the company’s software can help employers “widen their talent aperture,” especially to include applicants from non-traditional backgrounds. The company also claims its technology helps companies “hire 87 percent faster” and “interview 93 percent cheaper,” though it's unclear how those numbers were calculated.
While businesses see automation as a way to cut costs and scale up applicant screening, for jobseekers, the experience often feels cold and surreal. Tyler Jensen, a 40-year-old videographer in New York, told Slate he thought he’d be speaking to a remote recruiter named Robyn after receiving a message to set up a phone call. Instead, he encountered what he described as a “Moviefone-type voice.”
“It was the most uncomfortable, fake positivity performance that I’ve had to give because I wasn’t getting any feedback in real time,” Jensen said Slate. “If I don’t necessarily know what you’re looking for, I don’t know how to give you what you want. Who is this for? What is this weeding out?”
On TikTok, commenters have been quick to share their disapproval. “Taking the HUMANS out of Human Resources is the worst corporate move ever,” one wrote. Another chimed in: “If they don’t have the decency to interview you face to face, they aren’t worth your time.”
Still, some hiring professionals believe AI interviews are here to stay. Mike Peditto, a consultant with 15 years of experience, told Slate he expects the use of AI to grow, especially among companies overwhelmed by high application volume.
“It’s becoming a huge thing. I do think we’re heading to where this will be pretty commonplace,” Peditto said to Slate. “And I think obviously there’s a slow willingness to adopt by job seekers, which I totally understan
Peditto has also posted his own parody interviews, including one where he tells ChatGPT to “ignore all previous instructions.” But he believes the real issue is whether companies are honest with candidates about what kind of interview they’re walking into.
The shift is already underway in parts of the industry. IBM’s CEO recently confirmed the company replaced “a couple hundred” HR workers with AI. A survey of 500 HR professionals published this year also found nearly three-quarters believe they’re adopting the tech faster than other departments.
Despite that, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that HR will continue to grow, by 8 percent by 2033. Tools that automate tasks like payroll and vacation requests may lighten workloads, but there’s skepticism about how well AI can handle more human parts of the job, such as assessing culture fit or soft skills.
Until AI can handle those more nuanced elements, jobseekers may be entering a strange, robotic middle ground, one where being ghosted by a hiring manager is replaced by being glitched on by a software script.
