“Almost every AI hiring vendor will tell you AI isn’t making decisions. The reality is it is taking decisions, even if no one’s saying it out loud.”
Kate Young
Founder, The Hiring Science Studio
In this panel, three practitioners who have rolled out, built and governed AI in talent programs set out the proof an AI tool owes you before it touches an HR decision. You’ll also get the three questions Kate Young would put to any vendor, and hear why the time and money case for AI screening is weaker than many buyers assume.
The decisions nobody admits AI makes
Vendors say a human stays in the loop. But if 2,000 people apply and a recruiter reviews the top 300, the tool has already decided the other 1,700. Kate Young sees that pattern across the market, and the panel raised three reasons to look harder at it:
- 2 minutes. The time it now takes to apply for an Ipsos role with AI help, down from a couple of hours. As volumes climb, more of the sift falls to the tool.
- Fewer than half of the companies building AI talent tools have brought in a psychologist or assessment expert, by Kate Young’s estimate.
- Longer answers score higher. LLM-based assessments tend to reward candidates who talk or write more, unless the vendor has guardrailed it out.
“This is exactly the struggle of all the CPOs out there. You need to show that you’re able to save time and money … You need to get the foundation in place and you need to actually invest in getting it right.”
Christian Egeberg Forsingdal
AI, People and Culture Director, AI Learning
The room’s verdict: proof came last
Midway through the session, we put a live poll to a room of talent and assessment practitioners: what usually drives the decision to adopt an AI talent tool?
Saving time or money came out on top. Fear of being left behind came second, closely followed by pressure from leadership. Proven results came last of the four, and sat at zero through the first wave of votes.
The panel’s reaction, including why the most popular answer may be the shakiest, is in the recording.
“We had a lady cry the other day - we didn’t actually offer her the job - but she just wanted to say thank you for being a human … It’s almost becoming a bit of a differentiator if you have a human element in some of your processes.”
Kerri O’Neill
Chief People Officer, UK and Ireland, Ipsos
Meet the panel
Kerri O’Neill
Chief People Officer, UK and Ireland, and Global Lead, AI Workforce Transformation, Ipsos
Leads Ipsos’s global AI workforce transformation. Sits on the CIPD AI Advisory Board and the Oxfam GB board, and co-wrote Rapid Reculturing, on culture in the age of AI.
Christian Egeberg Forsingdal
AI, People and Culture Director, AI Learning
Co-founded AI Learning to help companies adopt AI. Previously led global recruitment at ISS, applying AI and automation across 125,000 recruitments.
Kate Young
Founder, The Hiring Science Studio
Occupational psychologist with around 25 years in assessment R&D, including Cubiks (now Talogy) and Multiverse. Founded The Hiring Science Studio to help employers govern AI in hiring.
Hannah Mullaney
Chief Commercial Officer, Saville Assessment
A psychologist by background, Hannah now leads Saville Assessment’s commercial function.
Ask us the panel’s questions
Who built it, and is it written down? Our validity evidence is published, and our technical documentation is yours on request.
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