A Bridge Too Far: Signalling Effects of Artificial Intelligence Evaluation of Job Interviews

Deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) for job interview evaluations, while a potential signal of high innovativeness, may risk suggesting poor people orientation on the part of the organisation. This study utilizes an experimental methodology to investigate whether AI evaluation (AIE) is interpreted as a positive (high innovativeness) or negative (low people orientation) signal by the job applicant, and whether the ensuing effects on attitudes towards the organisation depend on the type of organization implementing the technology. Results indicate that AIE is interpreted more strongly as a signal of how the organisation treats people rather than of how innovative it is. Additionally, removing humans from the selection process appears to be a ‘bridge too far’, when it comes to technological advances in the selection process.