[eropple]

> I want to do a quick, ad-hoc programming exercise to see how fast you operate on basic tasks (which #1 doesn't readily address).

Right. And to do so in good faith, this absolutely can and should be a collaborative exercise with an interviewer. It demonstrates that the employer has skin in the game and isn't body-shopping. Once you're out of junior/low-mid hiring, this is really, really important to getting quality candidates to go through your funnel.

> interviewers are trying to de-risk candidates as much (and as fast) as possible.

Of course they are. They should also be aware of the tradeoffs in doing so.