‘Sounds like spam, how?’: Netizens sceptical after man claims AI use to apply to 1,000 jobs, get 50 calls, debate ethics

Netizens over at Reddit have reacted with scepticism and debate over ethics after a man posted claiming that he used artificial intelligence (AI) to send 1,000 job application while sleeping and landed 50 job interviews over a period of one month.

Posting on subreddit ‘Get Employed’, the original poster (OP), who has at time of writing this story on January 12, deleted his account. He claimed that he used AI to “automatically apply for 1000 jobs - and I got 50 interviews!”

The OP claimed he created an AI bot that analysed candidate information, job descriptions and “generates unique CVs and cover letters for each job”. He added, “And all of this while I was sleeping! In just one month, this method helped me secure around 50 interviews. The tailored CVs and cover letters, customized based on each job description, made a significant difference.”

Netizens React With Scepticism, Debate Ethics

Netizens however were not buying the tall claims. One quipped: “This sounds like some AI bot spamming Reddit.” (sic) and another checked out OP's link and warned other users saying, “WARNING. As of 2024-01-08, the code will not work because it's half-baked!”

Some were more critical, saying, “He’s a fraud” and “This costs money, not mentioned here.”

Some others were cautions, adding their input: “Careful. Companies are starting to add a “no AI” rule for resumes/applications. We already do and I even suspect AI was used, your resume goes straight in the trash.” (sic) and OP in comments wrote that the tool is for “education”, saying, “I do not recommend the use of this bot for obvious ethical reasons. The bot was created for educational and informative purposes only and out of my own curiosity. Nonetheless, I wanted to share the odd results obtained to highlight the power of artificial intelligence! However, I must also say that to be fair, there are many very expensive services that claim to offer the same functionality, probably much less than my bot!” (sic)

Not all agreed however, “Unethical? I don’t know. Companies use AI to read applications/ resumes so it’s pretty much bot talking to bot. If it gets me the job in the 21st century then like the old 20th century saying goes, all's fair in love and war,” said one user.

There were also the supportive comments, with one user even congratulating OP on his success.