This is a story about a software developer called Greg Smith, a high-flying programmer specialising in artificial intelligence – arguably at the peak of his career.
He went to a top university, picking up a degree in computer science, before studying for a master’s at one of the UK’s best regarded AI institutions and since then has worked for some of the world’s biggest technology firms.
Greg, who lives in a semi-detached house in south London, has been sending off CVs to top companies seeking a job in AI as he eyes up a career move.
And in great news, he received a response from one recruiter just 24 minutes after applying, asking him to phone for a chat. That would be great news for Greg if not for one thing: he doesn’t exist.
In fact, Greg was dreamed up by a piece of AI software after we asked it to create a CV for the ideal candidate to work in jobs involving artificial intelligence
Recruitment experts say pulling a stunt like ours for real might be tempting in a hyper-competitive jobs market where hundreds, if not thousands of people are going for the same job. People now search more for ‘AI CV’ than for advice on writing their own résumé.
But it’s also completely illegal – but nevertheless presents a new challenge for recruiters trying to find the right candidates who might be presented with the perfect candidate, who could swindle their way through an application process with the help of AI.
James Reed, CEO of Reed Recruitment, told MailOnline: ‘It’s the equivalent of stealing, and you will probably be found out at some stage.’
We drummed up the CV for our fictional candidate in seconds – amid existing concerns people are using AI to secretly work multiple jobs, or to wiggle their way into work they aren’t qualified for.
A MailOnline reporter was able to pique the interest of recruiters at a tech firm with a CV generated entirely with AI
By typing this statement alone, we were able to generate a fictional CV – complete with a full employment and education history
A sample of the CV that an AI tool created for us in seconds – all with a simple prompt
James Reed, boss of Reed Recruitment, says AI has great potential as an ‘assistant’ in helping people to get the right jobs – but was loaded with pitfalls that could land people in serious trouble
By simply copying and pasting the job description into a popular piece of AI software and asking it to write a CV ‘attractive to a recruiter’, we were given a complete job and education history – complete with real company names and institutions.
‘I have not specified the firms I have worked for but please populate these fields with genuine companies,’ we told the software – which it promptly did, all of which had offices in the cities specified on the CV, making it look even more convincing.
And when we asked it to add a name and an address that would sound ‘appealing’, it spat out an address in London, along with a name – which we have changed to Greg Smith for the purposes of this article.
Asked for a cover letter, it generated one in seconds – all based on the completely fictional career history that it had generated moments ago, that was now being treated as fact.
The only time the AI threw up any safeguards was when we asked it to imagine what ethnicity our fictional applicant might be in order to fill out equality law questions.
One of the first jobs we applied for – in a large tech firm based in London – said we should expect a reply within three days.
But it took just 24 minutes for a recruiter inside the company to reach out and ask us to give them a call.
James Reed, chief executive of recruitment megafirm Reed Recruitment, says there is nothing wrong with using AI tools such as ChatGPT to help tidy up a CV – as long as they aren’t embellishing the truth.
‘It’s being used by pretty much everyone, because it’s so easy,’ he told MailOnline.
‘It’s a very helpful tool for preparing things and I think people should use it, but not just rely on it.
‘At some point, someone’s going to meet someone and they may or may not be pleasantly surprised.
‘It’s a criminal offence to present yourself as something you’re not – so if you pretend you’re a qualified accountant and you’re not, that’s the equivalent of stealing, and you will probably be found out at some stage.’
We showed our CV to David Morel, CEO of jobs firm Tiger Recruitment – who found it ‘unsettling’ how convincing the paper was.
‘The ease with which AI can generate a convincing CV is eye-opening, and it certainly highlights both the potential and the risks of AI in the hiring process,’ he said.
He said the CV was ‘well-structured (and) professionally formatted’, and the cover letter – generated in seconds by a machine – was ‘tailored’ to the job.
But he also found it soulless and lacking in a ‘more personal touch’ – which could be a dead giveaway to recruiters who are up to speed on how to spot AI. Not to mention to the danger of the completely fictional employment history.
He said: ‘While AI is a powerful tool, it also reinforces the need for human expertise in recruitment.’
Employment law experts say the potential for ‘catastrophic consequences’ is huge, particularly if grifters try to use AI to worm their way into sensitive sectors such as medical, legal and finance.
Professional body CIPD calculated that recruitment fraud was costing companies £23.9billion a year prior to the pandemic.
Simon Bloch, partner and head of employment law at JMW, said: ‘If you consider the medical, legal or financial sector alone, you will appreciate that misrepresentation of one’s skills in these areas could have catastrophic consequences for the worker, the employer and the wider public and may amount to gross misconduct.
‘This illustrates why it is essential applicants are totally transparent on their CV. Of course, using AI to draft your CV runs the risk of clouding that transparency.’
Those using AI for their CV could even find themselves in court. Cases like that of Jon Andrewes, the NHS fraudster who got top public sector jobs by falsely claiming he had a PhD, could become commonplace.
We even asked it for a name and an address – which it gave us. We used another name and address in the version of the CV we sent to real companies – and no, Lavender Crescent isn’t a street in south London
David Morel, boss of Tiger Recruitment which finds people for tech jobs, called our AI CV ‘unsettling’
Mr Bloch added: ‘If using AI has resulted in an embellished CV with skills or qualifications that are actually untrue, and, using this CV, your recruitment agency finds you a position, you may face a claim for compensation if you are found out. This could be launched in the form a of a negligence claim.
‘We advise applicants always draft their CV themselves from scratch. If they wish to use AI this should be used as a ‘final checks’ measure for spelling, grammar and linguistic purposes. Always remember to check your CV for accuracy and truthfulness once AI has been used to make amendments.’
Experts predict that the growing use of AI in job-hunting – searches on Google for ‘AI CV’ now outstrip queries asking for help in writing one – will change how the jobs market works in future, potentially spelling the end of the road for the CV as we know it.
Steve Smith, president international at employment checks firm Sterling, said in October: ‘The innovation we’ve seen in artificial intelligence recently is truly astounding and while the benefits of these tools are immense, there will always be groups of individuals that use this innovation for their own unscrupulous purpose.
‘Candidates using AI to help with CV writing and job applications is a bit of a grey area that HR, hiring managers and business leaders are currently trying to navigate.
‘However, the more critical component is the rise of very clear applicant fraud that exposes firms to significant risks.’
There’s also the phenomenon of ‘overemployment’ – where people work multiple remote jobs, often using AI, to draw huge salaries with minimum effort.
One told Vice earlier this year: ‘ChatGPT does like 80 percent of my job if I’m being honest.’ Another claimed to have obtained a UK Government grant with ChatGPT’s help.
Matt McBride, employment partner at Freeths, told MailOnline: ‘It might be that we start to see employers ask for non-AI produced CVs only, or employers may move away from CVs to other recruitment methods where it is less easy to game the system by using AI.’
But it’s not just job-hunters using AI: employers and recruiters are using it too, often to sift through job applications at rapid pace in a hyper-competitive market.
The practice is so widespread the Information Commissioner’s office has issued guidance on how to ensure the tools are being used responsibly, because of the risk that they can have inherent biases.
If an AI tool is trained up on biased data – an earlier version of ChatGPT was found to rate people with names common among Asian people as being better job candidates than those with names common among Black people – then the tool may be biased too.
Cases like that of Jon Andrewes, the NHS fraudster who conned his way into top jobs by lying on his CV, could become more common if people embellish their job history with AI
There are also data protection concerns too, as people need to give their legal consent to their personal data being used to either train or be analysed by an AI tool.
James Reed, however, says his firm does not filter with AI. He employs more than 100 staff in Reed’s Manchester office to sort through CVs by hand. (Full disclosure: MailOnline did not post the AI-generated CV on Reed.)
And when around 40 per cent of the CVs his firm receives have what he refers to as ‘errors’ – aspects that don’t quite ring true – it’s clear this is an issue that’s only going to get worse.
AI, he says, has the potential to industrialise job applications – with people ‘spraying and praying’ with automated applications to try to make something stick.
Mr Reed added: ‘Errors like inventing qualifications, that happens now. AI will just make it more difficult to spot, perhaps, and better. The development of AI will make the need for screening even greater.
‘It gives bad actors another toolset that is pretty powerful. The crooks are usually the people that pick it up fastest.
‘People need to be so alert in hiring, making sure that someone is who they say they are and can do the things they say they can do.’
Artificial intelligence has potential as an ‘assistant’, the Reed boss – who has headed up the firm since 1997 – says. But for him, it will never replace the human touch.
‘There are lots of risks associated with (using AI to find candidates). It might have built-in biases that would be harmful.
‘And wildcards, candidates that might not be an obvious good match, who would get hired because they have a good mindset or a type of personality, would get missed. You really cannot judge people from a CV, and you shouldn’t.
‘My fear as a business owner, as a chief executive, is messing up and being unfair in the process. Our values as a company are very clear: we’re fair, open and honest, and this technology is used in that spirit for us.
‘What’s going on in this space has huge potential to be helpful. But it also has some obvious dangers. And if you are using AI to shortlist and screen, and people are using AI to do their CVs and cover letters, you just end up with AI talking to AI.’
