AI in Hiring Turns Technical Interviews into Arms Race

Software engineering jobs are under threat from AI. Some applicants are fighting back by using AI in the interview process, employing AI assistants that suggest responses on the fly during remote technical interviews.

Meanwhile, some employers are countering with—you guessed it—AI. They’re applying AI-powered tools to detect telltale signs of AI use during interviews.

This two-sided dynamic is turning hiring into an AI arms race with no clear winners. Yet as interviewers and interviewees navigate this daunting reality, experts believe the human aspect of the job search will prevail.

What’s driving the increase of AI in hiring?

AI hiring strategist Tatiana Teppoeva characterizes this phenomenon as playing cat and mouse in a climate of relentless AI-fueled tech layoffs and a job market filled with more applicants than open positions.

“What AI tools do well is identify if a person is performing according to some pattern or expected outcome,” Teppoeva says. When candidates experience constant rejection because they don’t fit the pattern, they might be forced to game the system using AI interview assistants, she adds.

Archie Payne, cofounder and president at technical recruiting firm CalTek Staffing, views it as a rational response to what he describes as a frustrating process from both sides. “Companies started to use AI resume screeners and similar tools to filter applications at scale. Candidates noticed this and started using AI in their interviews as a countermeasure to what they feel is a process that’s been automated against them,” he says.

This can lead to an AI-versus-AI loop, according to Ravi Kiran Pagidi, a senior AI data engineer at Navy Federal Credit Union who has been part of technical interview panels for software and data engineering positions. “The process may become less about actual capability and more about who can optimize better for the algorithm,” he says.

Tools of the trade

During technical interviews, software engineers might be tasked with outlining algorithms and answering questions related to system design and other software development fundamentals. Remote technical interviews usually turn into live programming sessions, with candidates writing code to solve a specific problem.

AI interview assistants such as Final Round AI, Interview Coder, and ParakeetAI can listen in, process the audio, and generate answers or code almost instantly. These tools can even be overlaid on the interview screen itself, claiming to appear invisible and undetectable.

“You’re able to read off an answer that’s coming to you in real time, so all you have to do is put on a little performance,” says Mudit Saraf, a software engineer at Meta.

Saraf and Shraddha Sunil, a software engineer at Microsoft, cofounded Ginger, an AI voice recruiter for first-round interviews. Ginger asks predefined questions and follow-up queries generated in real time, and it flags candidates who use AI during initial screening calls. The software…