Federal Government to Incorporate AI in Job Interviews

Washington — The U.S. government is set to implement artificial intelligence technology in interviewing processes for select job applicants. This move, announced by U.S. officials, will begin with certain divisions in the coming days.

The immediate application of AI will not extend to all federal agencies. Initially, AI technology will be trialed with the Tech Force, a project aimed at recruiting private-sector tech specialists for two-year positions in the government. CodeSignal, a platform, will facilitate this process for those applying to Tech Force.

The federal government employs approximately 1.9 million people. It has lagged behind private companies, which employ AI tools for preliminary screening in high-volume job applications. Recently, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which handles HR for the government, encouraged agencies to incorporate AI into hiring. However, the guidance emphasizes maintaining human oversight for key personnel decisions.

In earlier initiatives, OPM introduced AI for drafting job descriptions. Public comments from OPM representatives were not immediately available.

Scott Kupor, the director of OPM, is advocating to quicken the typically slow federal hiring procedures. He encourages managers to focus on hiring early career professionals to mitigate the aging workforce issue in the government. AI systems, such as Microsoft’s Copilot and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, have been increasingly used in personnel offices, accessible via government computers. Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude are other AI tools in use.

Within the Tech Force pilot project, AI agents will conduct structured interviews with standardized questioning. These sessions will be recorded and summarized, enabling hiring managers to review them afterwards.

CodeSignal provides AI-driven tools that streamline initial applicant screenings, using virtual agents for interviews in various formats, including audio and text. Employers receive transcribed candidate recordings for evaluation.

According to several officials, AI is expected to play a growing role in government hiring processes in the future.