It began like any other job interview — a polite smile, a nod of acknowledgment, and a friendly exchange over a video call. But soon, something about the interviewer’s movements started to feel unsettling. Her gestures seemed just slightly off, her head tilting at the same rhythm each time, and faint twitches flickering across her face. What started as a normal online interview quickly took a strange turn, leaving the candidate wondering whether the person on the other side of the screen was even real.
The unsettling ‘perfect’ interview
According to a Reddit user who shared the experience, the invitation for the interview arrived one morning via email. Nothing about it seemed out of the ordinary. He clicked the link and was greeted by a professional-looking interviewer who began asking standard questions. But as the conversation progressed, her reactions felt mechanical — almost rehearsed.
The applicant described how she spoke with flawless precision: “no hesitation, no ‘uhs.’” Curious, he decided to turn the question around and asked, “Why do you think this role matters?” Her answer came instantly — a polished, textbook-perfect response. When he repeated the question twice more, she gave the exact same reply, word for word. Moments later, the screen froze. When it resumed, the “interviewer” picked up right where she had left off, showing no sign of disruption.
That’s when he realized something was off. “Has anyone else had an interview like this?” he wrote. “I’m not against AI in hiring, but if an interviewer is basically a talking bot, shouldn’t candidates at least be told?”
Social media reacts to the eerie experience
The Reddit post drew widespread attention, sparking debate and humor alike. One user commented that if companies could use AI interviewers, “then candidates should also be allowed to use AI to match the energy.” Another joked that such an exchange could “go on for years,” imagining a loop of artificial interviewer and candidate feeding preprogrammed responses to each other.
Some commenters raised deeper ethical questions. One person recalled a lawsuit where a plaintiff claimed an AI interview functioned like a lie detector test, though the case was dismissed. Others noted that most companies still prohibit the use of AI during interviews, except in roles that specifically involve working with AI systems.