Some first/introductory interviews are now "powered" by AI. As in, the interviewee gets an AI bot that evaluates them. I'd not be surprised if this takes over and becomes standard.
For now, this is perhaps a blessing in disguise: it tells you that a company is all aboard the hype train and that leadership is seriously lacking in critical thinking and judgment. That can certainly save you from wasting more time with them.
I really, really hope this does not become a "standard". Ugh.
Don't candidates also get a say? If a company asked me to jump through that hoop I'd have a simple one-word response. "No"
If enough good candidates have that reaction, it will become a prestige marker for a company to not use AI screening to give them access to the best candidates
I really, really hope this does not become a "standard". Ugh.