𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗨𝗽 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗠𝘂𝗰𝗵

“I never spoke to anyone until the day of the interview, two zoom interviews by two teams. Then, no more human interaction. Only a curt rejection email, ‘Thank you for taking the time to interview with us. We have decided to pass.’ That was all. No one to talk to or ask questions of, or build a relationship with.”

That was the cry of a brilliant young recent Carnegie Mellon grad / AI engineer about her interview with a major tech company, who shall remain nameless.

No one to talk to. No feedback. No relationship built.

Every step of her process was automated: the screening, the scheduling, the assessments, the reminders, and even the rejection. She walked away unsure whether any human besides her interviewers ever saw her name.

And she’s not alone.

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻:

“We’re overwhelmed.”
“We can’t keep up.”
“And now we’re supposed to integrate AI into our workflows, somehow.”

Different context. Same emotional outcome:

𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘂𝗽.

People worry:
• “If I don’t master AI fast enough, will I fall behind?”
• “Am I replaceable?”
• “Is everyone else adapting faster than I am?”

This isn’t resistance to technology. This is 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 responding to rapid change without support, with a little fear throw in.

Here’s the good news:
AI doesn’t have to accelerate burnout. Used thoughtfully and carefully, it can actually reduce it.

But only if leaders do the following:

✔ Protect time for employees to learn
✔ Involve teams in how AI is used
✔ Let AI replace tasks, not add more
✔ Keep human connection at the center of the work
✔ And in recruiting, ensure a real person reaches out early

𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁.

That is what I talked about on the Human Protocol Podcast with Mykel Salomon, which can be found here:

What are you seeing in your organization or industry?

Are people feeling the pressure to “keep up” with AI?