The Pitfalls of AI in High-Stakes Interactions
Your mock interview experience perfectly highlights the current limitations of AI, especially when it comes to high-stakes human interactions like job interviews. The robotic voice, lack of an avatar, and the unsettling "gaslighting" response to your "25 years of office manager experience" reveal a significant disconnect from human conversational nuances.
The AI's inability to detect sarcasm or differentiate between a serious answer and a joke, and its relentless positive reinforcement, even when you were clearly unqualified and making light of the situation, is a major red flag. As you pointed out, emotional intelligence, sarcasm detection, and the ability to "read the room" are fundamental to effective human communication, and these are areas where current AI still struggles immensely.
The Mismatch in Conversational Energy
Your observation that "humans match the energy that they get in a conversation" is spot on. When the AI offered only robotic energy, it naturally led you to disengage and use short, unenthusiastic responses. This dynamic is incredibly problematic in an interview setting, where candidates are trying to present their best selves and connect with a potential employer. An AI that stifles natural conversation and provides an uncomfortable experience could easily disadvantage qualified candidates simply because of the medium.
Where AI Shines in HR (and Where it Should Stay Out)
You've clearly articulated the dichotomy of AI's utility in HR.
Effective AI Applications in HR:
Structuring Unstructured Data: This is a strong suit for AI, making sense of large volumes of diverse information.
Note-Taking and Transcription: As you mentioned, transcribing conversations is an excellent use case, freeing up HR professionals from tedious manual tasks.
Performance Management Support: Using AI to track goals from emails and meetings can streamline processes.
Employee Self-Service: Tools that help employees quickly find answers to common questions (like PTO policies or W2 forms) are efficient and reduce the burden on HR staff.
Areas Where AI Should Be Avoided:
Any interaction requiring emotional intelligence: This is the core of your negative experience. AI's current limitations in understanding nuanced human emotion, tone, and intent make it unsuitable for sensitive or critical conversations.
Decision-making in candidate selection: Your concern about AI "deciding from a pool of candidates who proceed and who don't" is very valid. The potential for bias, misinterpretation, and a lack of empathy in such a crucial process is significant and unfair to candidates.
Your experience underscores a critical point: while AI can be an incredible asset for automating manual tasks, organizing information, and providing quick access to data, it should not be employed in situations that demand genuine human connection, empathy, and the ability to interpret complex social cues. The future of AI in HR should focus on augmentation, supporting HR professionals, rather than attempting to replace their inherently human roles in areas like interviewing and employee relations, where emotional intelligence is paramount.