Blade Runner in the Boardroom: The AI Arms Race in Recruitment

In Blade Runner, humans feared replicants. In recruitment today, we’re building them and letting them decide who’s “worthy.” What do you think of the AI arms race in recruitment? Progress or dehumanising?

There’s an AI arms race in hiring, and job seekers are caught in the crossfire.

Candidates don’t fire off hundreds of resumes for fun - they do it because they’re flying blind:

No feedback from employers or recruiters.

No idea why they’re getting knocked out.

No way to work out how to improve.

So they turn to numbers: “Maybe if I send 200 applications, one will stick.”

Employers, swamped by the noise, hit back with AI filters, chatbots and now voice and video bots - all in the name of scale, efficiency, and cost reduction.

AI recruitmement tech companies happily fuel both sides like an arms dealer, feeding off anxiety, chasing VC dollars, rapid growth and the dream of selling out to the tech bros for a fat payday.

The result?

More noise.

More bias.

Great talent slipping through the cracks — disenchanted and disenfranchised.

To put this in perspective, last week I spoke to a senior leader who’s been job seeking for over six months.

He applied for a role — one of many.

He was shortlisted and asked for an interview. He was excited.

Then came a link…to meet with the company’s AI voice bot.

The voice sounded human, but when he asked questions, it just moved on.

No answers. No interaction.

He felt uncomfortable — but he needs a job, so he played along.

He passed. Yay!

Next came an online cultural assessment. He completed it.

Then?

A video interview…with an AI video bot.

Again, uncomfortable. Again, no human connection.

Finally, a rejection email: “Thanks for your interest in our company, we’ll keep you in mind for other opportunities.”

No feedback. No closure.

Now? He won’t work for this company - ever!. He won’t even be their customer.

AI will have its place in recruitment - no doubt.

But using it to replace genuine human interaction will have consequences.

Employers and recruiters need to be careful they’re not drinking too much AI Kool-Aid.

In Blade Runner, the Voight-Kampff test was designed to measure empathy.

In hiring today, employers, recruiters and bots don’t even try.

Speed and scale isn’t better hiring.

Tech should serve talent and people - not replace them.

So, if you’re a job seeker, how would you feel when your first interview (or any interview) is with a bot?

If you’re an employer or recruiter, is this really the first impression you want to make?