Recorded live in London at our 2026 conference, this 35-minute panel asks which talent fundamentals still hold as AI changes what candidates can do. You’ll also hear what happened to AI cheating rates when candidates had to type “I agree” to a warning.
It was one of two panels on the day. For the other, catch up on Automating talent: Is anyone proving AI works?
What still holds when the tech moves
Models change every few months. The panel kept returning to what doesn’t: check the evidence yourself, assess potential as well as skills, and review what AI hands you before acting on it.
Hennie Kriek, Barny Ritchley and Rab MacIver on why fundamentals matter more as AI speeds up.
- Scores still mean something. No uplift in cognitive ability baselines Top Talent Solutions checks every month, despite candidates having AI to hand.
- Clear rules still work. 1.8% of candidates flagged once they typed “I agree” to a no-AI warning, down from 7 to 8% and back to pre-AI levels (Top Talent Solutions’ early sample).
- Judgment still wins. Critical thinking was the room’s top capability for an AI-enabled world, matching a similar poll at SIOP.
In their words
“Three years ago I told my business partner we should sell up and open a hamburger hut, because AI was going to kill assessment. I feel much better today.”
Hennie Kriek
CEO and President, Top Talent Solutions
“You don’t necessarily need someone with that hard-skill knowledge when the gap gets filled by AI in the workplace. Your talent pool opens up quite considerably.”
Barny Ritchley
Chief Technology Officer, Saville Assessment
“If anything, you need your intern to be more skeptical and more critical, not to trust the sources, and to go right back to the beginning.”
Rab MacIver
Chief Science Officer, Saville Assessment
Meet the panel
Hennie Kriek
CEO and President, Top Talent Solutions
Founded Top Talent Solutions 15 years ago, with offices in South Africa, the US and Turkey, after leading assessment businesses in both the US and South Africa.
Barny Ritchley
Chief Technology Officer, Saville Assessment
Joined Saville Assessment as CTO in January 2026. His background is bringing applied technology into products and turning it into commercial value.
Rab MacIver
Chief Science Officer, Saville Assessment
A founding member of Saville Assessment more than 20 years ago, and part of the team that built Wave. Responsible for the science behind all our products.
Hannah Mullaney
Chief Commercial Officer, Saville Assessment
A psychologist by background, Hannah now leads Saville Assessment’s commercial function.
The science behind the principles
Rab and the team built Wave on validation from day one. See how it was built and the evidence behind it.
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