hackajob’s Post

The Illusion of Thinking: How AI in Recruitment Risks Flattening What Makes Hiring Human Two of the best thinkers in our space come together for this episode that goes against the grain with Matt Buckland and Hung Lee Topics We’ll Cover: Why much of AI in recruitment today is a solution in search of a problem. How the pressure to adopt AI tools creates guilt among practitioners, even when businesses aren’t ready. Great recruitment is idiosyncratic, not homogeneous. The risk of training AI on average data — leading to AI slop that pushes average candidates and filters out outliers. Why flattening nuance removes the ability to surprise, delight, or differentiate. The danger of treating recruitment as a transactional, administrative process vs a human-centered, high-impact function. AI as a force for homogenisation – efficient, but not effective for complex or strategic hires. The double standard: we criticise candidates for using AI tools, while recruiters rely on them blindly. Where trust becomes central: trust in the data, trust in the tools, trust in the people. Where AI can be useful: with intentional design and focused problem-solving (e.g. solving for volume, low-variance hiring). This episode won’t be about AI worship or bashing—it’s about nuance, critical thought, and practical implications for recruiters and orgs navigating this shift.