AI job interviews reach a new stage: bots talking to bots

Christopher, a government contractor, has applied to over 700 jobs without success in the DOGE era. Five applications went through an AI recruiter named Riley for Everforth Apex Systems. Despite multiple interactions, no human recruiter followed up. Frustrated, Christopher used ChatGPT to simulate his own interview with Riley, resulting in a 10-minute bot-to-bot conversation. Riley promised a recruiter would contact him if qualified, but none did. Christopher called it a 'slop flywheel,' where synthetic personas exchange meaningless data. AI interviews have become common, with 63% of job seekers encountering them. Recruiters use voice AI to screen candidates, though it's challenging due to accents and interruptions. AI startups now help detect scripted responses. Mark Monaghan of IQor says bot-on-bot interviews are the 'next logical stage,' though he believes AI use was justified in Christopher's case. Christopher later submitted a fake candidate profile, leading to a 23-minute AI interview, but no follow-up occurred.