 and virtual reality (VR) technology, you may soon be interviewed for that job you really want... by a computer. Earlier this year students at Sandwell College in West Bromwich put on VR headsets to do some mock interviews.Their avatars - cartoon-like, 3D representations of themselves - were put through their paces by another talking avatar representing the AI software system.Image caption, This is what the Bodyswaps' VR job interviews look like"I'd never had an interview before in my life," says engineering student Ayyan Ahmed. "But because there was no human judging me, and it was all online, I could actually express myself."And then, at the end of the process, he [the VR interviewer] told me what I did wrong, and what I did right. It really helped me to know what to do in my next interview."The VR system the students were using is made by London-based company Bodyswaps.Questions and requests that the interviewees get asked range from the straightforward "tell me about your greatest achievements", to the more challenging "do you prefer to be loved or feared?"The user then gets feedback, not just on what they said, but how they say it, whether they are maintaining eye contact with the interviewer avatar, and even their posture.Image source, Ayyan AhmedImage caption, Student Ayyan Ahmed says he felt he could talk freely to the computer interviewerBodyswaps' chief executive Christophe Mallet says the idea is that people can keep practising with the simulated job interviews until they fe){kind=link}
Going for a job interview is the stuff of nightmares for many people, while for others it is a chance to shine.
Either way you are typically still interviewed by other human beings, either after walking into a scary office with one or more bosses sitting behind a desk, or via an equally nerve-wracking Zoom call.
Yet thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) technology, you may soon be interviewed for that job you really want… by a computer.
Earlier this year students at Sandwell College in West Bromwich put on VR headsets to do some mock interviews.
Their avatars – cartoon-like, 3D representations of themselves – were put through their paces by another talking avatar representing the AI software system.