A lot of people talk about AI in hiring like it is an on or off switch. Use it or do not use it. Love it or hate it.
That way of thinking is not helping anyone.
In a Sense -sponsored conversation I did with Torin Ellis about automation and candidate experience, Torin said something I keep coming back to: “We must scale technology without losing humanity.”
Torin Ellis, Improving Candidate Experience at Scale Through Automation Watch recap here.
That is the real goal. Use technology to scale, but do not treat people like numbers.
Why this matters more now
We are seeing more than one class action lawsuit aimed at big HR tech companies. These cases raise concerns about how AI tools may be judging people behind the scenes. No matter how any one lawsuit turns out, the message is getting louder: When hiring tech feels like a black box, trust drops fast. Risk goes up too.
So I think the real line is not “AI vs. not AI.” The real line is this: Are you being clear with candidates, or are you making decisions in the dark?
Candidates do not want a mystery
Many candidates already feel like AI is a gatekeeper. They apply, then nothing happens. Or they get rejected with no real reason. They do not know what the system looked at. They do not know what they could fix. That is a design problem.
In my Hiring Excellence conversation with Johnny Campbell CEO of SocialTalent and Tara Turk-Haynes , Tara said it simply: “Technology itself isn’t the problem. It’s how people think about rolling it out.” (Listen to the podcast here)
If people are scared of your process, it does not matter how good the tool is on paper.
A better design pattern: let the candidate see it
Here is the shift I want more teams to consider. Instead of running the “match” in the background, bring the candidate into it. Let them see how the system reads their resume. Let them see what the job requires. Show what matches and what does not. Then give them a chance to fix mistakes.
That is why Match2 is interesting. The candidate is part of the process. They can correct what the system gets wrong. They also approve what gets submitted. It is the opposite of “silent scoring.” This is what I refer to as “Assisted Intelligence.”
If you want to see what I mean, here is a short video that shows the full candidate experience from start to finish: Match2 candidate experience video.
Why this is more “human,” not less
Some people hear automation and think “cold.” But the truth is simple. When recruiters are stuck doing low-value tasks all day, they have less time for real conversations. The human part suffers.
Good automation can remove the busywork so recruiters can focus on what matters:
- Fit
- Motivation
- Coaching
- Honest two-way conversations
That is how automation can actually make hiring feel more human.
Some practical rules for human-first TA tech
Here are some simple rules you can use right now, whether you are buying tech, building tech, or setting up your hiring process.
1) Show your work – If a tool is ranking, matching, or recommending, do not hide it. Make it understandable.
2) Give candidates a way to correct errors – Resume parsing and automated evaluations are not perfect. Job requirements are not always written well. Give candidates a fair chance to fix issues before they get filtered out.
3) Test your own process like a candidate – Walk through your own apply flow. Try it on a phone. See how long it takes. Notice where it feels confusing or stressful.
4) Keep humans accountable – Technology can help, but it should not be the final owner of hiring decisions. People are still responsible for the process and the outcomes.
Final thought
AI in hiring is not slowing down. Candidate expectations are not getting lower either. And the legal pressure around hidden decision-making is not going away. So the best strategy is not to hide the technology. The best strategy is to design it in a way that people can understand and trust. Not only is this good for candidate experience and effectiveness, but it will also stop your legal department from showing up to every meeting like it’s a fire drill and you’re holding the matches. Or as my good friend Torin said:
“We must scale technology without losing humanity.” I think that applies well beyond recruiting.
- Tara’s company, Equity Activations: https://equityact.beehiiv.com/
- Torin’s company, The Torin Ellis Brand : https://torinellis.com/