Special Report: Artificial Intelligence Job Interviews

Special Report: Artificial Intelligence Job Interviews
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From self-driving cars to advanced manufacturing, even your Facebook feed, artificial intelligence is popping up in many aspects of life. Now, it's even invading the workplace. 

More companies are turning to software programs, like HireVue, to recruit and interview potential employees. 

“It’s a chance for you to tell your story and tell a little bit more about yourself in a way a resume never could," said company CEO, Kevin Parker. 

The program provides hypothetical scenarios and questions and records a candidate's responses, then produces a score, based on things like word choice, facial expressions, and eye contact. 

“Our facial features communicate a great deal,” says Parker. “What we’re really trying to do is create a consistent experience and a high-quality experience for candidates and companies." 

Top scoring candidates move on to in-person interviews. HireVue says the process curbs racial and gender bias. 

“As a result of that, diversity really improves.”

Of the more than 600 companies worldwide using HireVue, there are only nine in Wisconsin, from corporations to school districts. 


AI in Milwaukee 


“The industry is really calling for it," says Dr. Derek Riley, the program director of computer sciences at Milwaukee's School of Engineering (MSOE). "There’s a lot of interest and enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. There’s a lot of demand for people who have that skill set." 

In the summer of 2018, the university will break ground on the "Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall." The university received a $34 million gift from MSOE Regent and alumnus Dr. Dwight Diercks and his wife, Dian.   

"We have essentially a gift of a building and a program. We also have a person at the leading edge of this. He now is going to be an adviser to this program. I think that partnership is incredibly exciting,” said Dr. Riley. 

The new building will house the software engineering program and a new computer sciences program on campus, as well as an AI lab.

Still confused what AI is? Dr. Riley says, "a branch of computer sciences" that trains a computer to solve "hard problems."

"A lot of like you would train a child to do something, you do it through repetition. You just use a lot of repetition and advanced algorithms to be able to make them work,” says Dr. Riley, hence the need for a "supercomputer" that will be housed within the new lab.   

The university also plans to eventually unveil a new undergraduate degree with a focus on artificial intelligence. 

“The idea being these students will be able to get internship experiences in the area and at other companies and other locations so they can learn by doing from the beginning.”

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