AI Will Evaluate Your Job Application. Do You Still Want to Apply?

If job seekers knew companies were using artificial intelligence to fill open positions, would it stop them from applying for the job?

The answer, according to a recent study, is yes—sometimes.

The researchers found that in certain instances, like the screening of applications, study participants usually accepted some degree of automation. But in other instances, like interviews, the study suggests, automation could deter job seekers from applying for a position.

Companies contending with recent labor shortages are increasingly turning to AI as a way to facilitate and speed up the hiring process. AI can be used in such tasks as screening job applicants for basic qualifications, checking for professional credentials and licenses, evaluating video statements, interviewing candidates and conducting competency assessments.

The new research underscores when using AI in hiring could be counterproductive. For instance, in one part of the study participants were shown fictional job postings and then asked if they intended to apply for the position. The researchers found that if the job posting said AI was used to both screen applicants and conduct interviews, participants’ intention to apply to the position averaged 2.77 on a six-point scale, with 6 reflecting the highest intention to apply. If AI was used only for the screening process, participants’ intention to apply averaged 3.73.

In another experiment, the authors also found that study participants saw pros as well as cons in the use of AI in interviewing.

Participants who saw a job posting stating that AI was used to both screen applicants and conduct interviews expected the hiring process to be more consistent in its judgments than those who saw postings with less AI involvement, ranking the process at an average of 3.66 for consistency on a five-point scale, with 5 being most consistent. Participants where AI was to be used to screen applicants but not interview them ranked the process at 3.48 for consistency, and participants where the posting made no mention of automation ranked the process at 3.16 for consistency.

On the other hand, participants who were told the hiring would be fully automated tended to believe more than others that they had less agency or voice in the final outcome. Overall, the study results suggest this concern tends to outweigh the appreciation of AI’s lack of bias at the interviewing stage.

“A hybrid approach where companies use AI in some tasks but not others may be a way to get the best of both worlds,” says Jenny Wesche, a co-author of the study and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Free University of Berlin. Participants may have been more open to automation earlier in the hiring process because they had little expectation of direct interaction at that stage and could see some benefits from using AI—such as less-biased decisions and the avoidance of problems like nepotism, she says. But during the later stages, she suggests, applicants expect personal interaction, to give them an opportunity to sell themselves and to learn more about the company.

“AI is not inherently good or bad,” Dr. Wesche says. “It just very much depends on the context it’s used.”

The marketplace has spoken and, at least for now, it’s showing preference for hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) over battery electrics. That makes Toyota’s foot dragging on EVs (and full speed ahead on hybrids) look fairly wise, though the timeline along a bumpy road still gets us to full electrification by 2035.

Italian supercar producer Lamborghini, in business since 1963, is also proceeding, incrementally, toward battery power. In an interview, Federico Foschini , Lamborghini’s chief global marketing and sales officer, talked about the new Urus SE plug-in hybrid the company showed at its lounge in New York on Monday.

The Urus SE interior gets a larger centre screen and other updates.
Lamborghini

The Urus SE SUV will sell for US$258,000 in the U.S. (the company’s biggest market) when it goes on sale internationally in the first quarter of 2025, Foschini says.

“We’re using the contribution from the electric motor and battery to not only lower emissions but also to boost performance,” he says. “Next year, all three of our models [the others are the Revuelto, a PHEV from launch, and the continuation of the Huracán] will be available as PHEVs.”

The Euro-spec Urus SE will have a stated 37 miles of electric-only range, thanks to a 192-horsepower electric motor and a 25.9-kilowatt-hour battery, but that distance will probably be less in stricter U.S. federal testing. In electric mode, the SE can reach 81 miles per hour. With the 4-litre 620-horsepower twin-turbo V8 engine engaged, the picture is quite different. With 789 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque on tap, the SE—as big as it is—can reach 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and attain 193 mph. It’s marginally faster than the Urus S, but also slightly under the cutting-edge Urus Performante model. Lamborghini says the SE reduces emissions by 80% compared to a standard Urus.

Lamborghini’s Urus plans are a little complicated. The company’s order books are full through 2025, but after that it plans to ditch the S and Performante models and produce only the SE. That’s only for a year, however, because the all-electric Urus should arrive by 2029.

Lamborghini’s Federico Foschini with the Urus SE in New York.
Lamborghini

Thanks to the electric motor, the Urus SE offers all-wheel drive. The motor is situated inside the eight-speed automatic transmission, and it acts as a booster for the V8 but it can also drive the wheels on its own. The electric torque-vectoring system distributes power to the wheels that need it for improved cornering. The Urus SE has six driving modes, with variations that give a total of 11 performance options. There are carbon ceramic brakes front and rear.

To distinguish it, the Urus SE gets a new “floating” hood design and a new grille, headlights with matrix LED technology and a new lighting signature, and a redesigned bumper. There are more than 100 bodywork styling options, and 47 interior color combinations, with four embroidery types. The rear liftgate has also been restyled, with lights that connect the tail light clusters. The rear diffuser was redesigned to give 35% more downforce (compared to the Urus S) and keep the car on the road.

The Urus represents about 60% of U.S. Lamborghini sales, Foschini says, and in the early years 80% of buyers were new to the brand. Now it’s down to 70%because, as Foschini says, some happy Urus owners have upgraded to the Performante model. Lamborghini sold 3,000 cars last year in the U.S., where it has 44 dealers. Global sales were 10,112, the first time the marque went into five figures.

The average Urus buyer is 45 years old, though it’s 10 years younger in China and 10 years older in Japan. Only 10% are women, though that percentage is increasing.

“The customer base is widening, thanks to the broad appeal of the Urus—it’s a very usable car,” Foschini says. “The new buyers are successful in business, appreciate the technology, the performance, the unconventional design, and the fun-to-drive nature of the Urus.”

Maserati has two SUVs in its lineup, the Levante and the smaller Grecale. But Foschini says Lamborghini has no such plans. “A smaller SUV is not consistent with the positioning of our brand,” he says. “It’s not what we need in our portfolio now.”

It’s unclear exactly when Lamborghini will become an all-battery-electric brand. Foschini says that the Italian automaker is working with Volkswagen Group partner Porsche on e-fuel, synthetic and renewably made gasoline that could presumably extend the brand’s internal-combustion identity. But now, e-fuel is very expensive to make as it relies on wind power and captured carbon dioxide.

During Monterey Car Week in 2023, Lamborghini showed the Lanzador , a 2+2 electric concept car with high ground clearance that is headed for production. “This is the right electric vehicle for us,” Foschini says. “And the production version will look better than the concept.” The Lanzador, Lamborghini’s fourth model, should arrive in 2028.

AI Will Evaluate Your Job Application. Do You Still Want to Apply?

A study suggests that the answer may depend on how artificial intelligence is used.