Bullet Points:

  • Using ChatGPT to generate resumes may disadvantage job applicants.
  • Personalisation is crucial when using AI for work; act as an editor, not just a copy-paster.

OUR TAKE
AI development is a double-edged sword: it boosts productivity and quality but may erode human rationality. The AI Index Report 2024 highlights AI’s ability to speed up tasks and improve output, yet also points out growing reliance on AI, which bypasses human thought. Both employers and job seekers using AI achieve efficiency but face unsatisfactory, homogenised results. Combining human intellect with AI might be the key to balancing these effects.
— Yasmine Luo, BTW reporter

What happened?

Using ChatGPT to generate resumes might backfire for job applicants. Many companies use AI to screen resumes, leading to similar application content when job seekers use ChatGPT.

Jakob Knutzen, CEO of Butter, and Christina Hallman, Head of Demand Generation at Outpost24, reported receiving many AI-generated cover letters, which often sounded very similar and unnatural.

“The formulations were incredibly similar and used a bunch of phrases that I would never imagine people using,” Knutzen noted. Hallman added, “It’s better to have just not attached anything.”

AI-generated applications don’t directly disqualify candidates, but those using AI often find themselves at a disadvantage. Hallman believes the lack of personalisation in AI-generated content is the main issue and suggests applicants use AI tools more intentionally.

Some companies are considering video introductions or special questions to prevent AI-generated responses, but worry this might raise the application barrier. Job seekers feel they’re trying to level the playing field in an automated hiring system, frustrated by a lack of feedback and automated rejections.

Also read: How ChatGPT nearly ruined my best friendship
Also read: PwC adopts ChatGPT enterprise for corporate AI solutions

Why it’s important

The development of AI has always been a double-edged sword. On one hand, it accelerates production speed and quality; on the other hand, it may hasten the dissolution of human rationality. Which edge is sharper? Perhaps the answer is no longer in our hands.

Indeed, according to the Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2024, AI enables workers to complete tasks more quickly and improve the quality of their output, bringing great convenience. However, it is undeniable that AI’s influence on human thought is growing by the day. People are increasingly reliant on AI, turning to it to solve complex or troublesome work issues, thereby bypassing and replacing the thinking process. In the news examples mentioned earlier, both employers and job seekers use AI to perform tasks that should be completed by humans. While this undeniably improves efficiency, the homogenised results brought by AI are less than satisfactory.

As one company representative mentioned, perhaps the solution to reconciling human thinking with AI efficiency lies in combining human intellect with AI. This approach might be the key to mitigating the contrasting effects of this double-edged sword.