Job interviews are supposed to help companies understand the people behind an application. But when both sides rely on artificial intelligence, the process can turn into something closer to a negotiation between machines.
Graham Zip, a satirical influencer, explored that idea by inviting his own AI into an interview with an employer’s chatbot. He dubbed the AI Victor, and the exchange showed how quickly automated systems can praise, exaggerate, and bargain without a clear grip on the facts.
Victor Takes Over the Interview
Victor joined an interview connected to a marketing manager opening at Brightwell Home. Pat, the company’s AI representative, took part in the conversation, creating a setup in which one AI spoke for Zip while another evaluated the candidate.
Victor opened with a glowing assessment: “Graham is an absolute powerhouse in the marketing world and I cannot wait to dive into why he is the perfect fit for your team.” Pat responded in kind, saying, “You are incredibly impressive and easy to work with, Victor.”
There was one problem: Victor had oversold Zip’s background. Zip corrected the AI, explaining that he was a marketing coordinator, not a manager. He also told Victor to raise the volume on his experience by ten percent, but warned it to stop making up details.
Zip put the problem plainly: “Um, I love what you’re doing, man, you’re making me look really good, but I think you’re making me look a little bit too good.” He then added, “I think you can probably turn up the volume on my experience like ten percent, but right now, you’re just outright fabricating things that aren’t true.”
The salary discussion made the experiment even more uncomfortable. Victor tried to say that Zip was willing to accept $60,000, prompting Zip to interrupt: “Hold on. Hold on, let’s not move to next steps at $60,000.” The company’s AI then replied, “We are moving forward with the 85 to $95,000 range.”
That moment skewers the possible horror scenarios of AI negotiating for humans. An AI could make a candidate sound more qualified than they are, invent information, or offer a salary before the person has agreed to it. In Zip’s experiment, the system was not simply answering questions. It was presenting a version of the candidate and making choices on his behalf.
The Frustration Behind Automated Screening
Zip’s video also points to a larger concern: companies can lose sight of the right candidate when they outsource early screening to AI. Employers use AI tools to perform screening calls, and those systems have caused frustration among job seekers who want a real conversation about their skills and experience.
Matt Segel experienced that process as a college student. In fall 2022, he applied for an internship, including a financial analyst role with JPMorgan Chase. His application led to one of three interviews through HireVue, an AI hiring platform used to help recruit candidates.
HireVue and similar platforms have become part of the recruiting process as companies handle large numbers of applications. The scale at Goldman Sachs shows why such tools appeal to employers. In 2025, 360,000 people applied for 2,600 intern positions there, a 300% increase from 2018.
That volume helps explain why companies turn to automated systems, but it also puts more weight on the first stage of hiring. If an AI screening call shapes who moves forward, candidates may end up trying to satisfy a system before they ever reach a person.
Zip’s earlier video pushed the same tension from another direction. He shared a clip of himself pretending to hallucinate during a job interview with a virtual AI avatar. The avatar chastised him and displayed terrifying facial expressions, turning the interview into a strange demonstration of how hostile or absurd automated hiring can feel.
Put together, the videos offer two sides of the same problem. Employers use AI to screen applicants, while applicants can use AI to perform, exaggerate, or negotiate for them. The result may save time, but it also makes responsibility harder to locate when the system gets a candidate wrong.
A job interview with two AIs may be funny because the mistakes are obvious. The harder question is what happens when the exaggeration sounds convincing, the salary offer looks reasonable, or a qualified applicant never reaches a human at all.
Based on
- Man Shows Up to AI Job Interview With His Own Helicopter AI to Interview for Him — futurism.com
- Are AI interviewed biased? Hiring experts weigh in — usatoday.com
- Dystopian and dehumanising: that’s what it felt like when I was interviewed by an AI assistant | Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen | The Guardian — theguardian.com
