How AI Can Make Hiring More Human, Not Less

Insights from Prem Kumar on the Shift AI Podcast

"When I think of AI first…I think for our customers to be successful, they need a solid set of people and process. AI makes things go faster, but you don't want to make the wrong processes and make things happen faster."

This perspective from Prem Kumar, CEO of Humanly and recent GeekWire Award winner for CEO of the Year, cuts to the heart of a crucial question explored in our latest Shift AI Podcast episode: In an era where technology could automate away human interaction entirely, how do we ensure it enhances rather than erases our humanity?

The hiring process exemplifies this tension perfectly. Job seekers send applications into what feels like a digital void, while recruiters drown in hundreds of resumes with no efficient way to provide meaningful feedback. But as Prem shared in our conversation, his work at Humanly demonstrates how AI can actually make this process more human, not less.

From Corporate Buyer to Startup Builder

Prem's journey offers a masterclass in understanding market problems from multiple angles. His experience as a buyer of HR solutions at Microsoft gave him deep insight into what enterprises actually need, while his startup leadership role at TINYpulse taught him the scrappy, iterative mindset required to build solutions that work.

The problems he witnessed were stark: "when I was applying to roles out of college, I went to the University of Washington. It just, I wasn't. I was surprised, at just the, spent so much time on, on my resume and not hearing back from anyone." The statistics he shares are even more sobering—job candidates have only a 5% chance of a human looking at their resume, and if they're in that lucky 5%, recruiters spend just seven seconds reviewing their life's work.

This dual perspective proved invaluable when he identified the core inefficiencies plaguing modern recruitment. The traditional hiring funnel isn't just slow—it's fundamentally disconnected from human needs on both sides.

The 24-Hour Promise: Meaningful Conversations at Scale

Here's where Humanly's approach gets interesting. Instead of replacing human interaction with AI, they're using technology to enable what Prem calls "meaningful two-way conversations" with every candidate within 24 hours of application.

"Everyone gets into a two-way conversation within 24 hours," Prem explains. "So let's say you apply, you find a job on Indeed, you apply, you then get automated email right away with a link... you're able to ask questions. You're also getting screened. And then you're scheduled."

Think about that for a moment. When was the last time you applied for a job and heard back—with actual substance—within a day? For most of us, the answer is never.

This isn't about automated rejection emails or generic responses. It's about facilitating genuine dialogue where "it's not just the company screening the candidate, but the candidate also screening the company."

Fighting Bias with Better Data

One of the most compelling aspects of Prem's approach is how AI can actually reduce bias in hiring rather than perpetuate it. He points to concerning examples: companies that have been sued for "looking at things like eye contact in a video interview to assume confidence of a job candidate" or his personal discovery that "Horribly, junior female candidates were getting 12 minutes less to speak in consistently in a 45 minute Zoom interview."

The solution isn't just about better algorithms—it's about expanding access and standardizing processes. "One way we can improve the bias side is just increasing the net so you can talk to everyone that applies," Prem notes.

Humanly uses third-party auditing and focuses on standardization to level the playing field. Even small biases matter: Prem discovered his own unconscious bias when the data showed he speaks too quickly during interviews. "When I'm speaking at over 150 words per minute to a job candidate, particularly if English is a second language, they're taking in less. And then I'm assuming they don't know the answer."

Strategic Advice for Today's Job Seekers

For anyone navigating today's job market, Prem offers practical guidance beyond the usual resume tips. He recommends tools like JobScan to ensure your resume properly reflects your experience, noting that "you don't wanna not get an interview because you worded things wrong in your resume."

But perhaps more importantly, he acknowledges the new reality of high-volume recruiting: "Right now the barrier to apply with things like easy apply and quick apply... has made it so these recruiters are just inundated in volume. So they're using shortcuts to decide who to talk to."

His advice? Be strategic about direct outreach. "If you can market yourself and get more eyeballs through sending direct messages to hiring managers and recruiters, that can be helpful." The key is being thoughtful, not aggressive.

The companies that are getting this right understand that technology should enhance human judgment, not replace it. As a candidate, look for organizations that use AI to improve communication and transparency rather than create more barriers.

Building Trust Through Transparency

What sets Humanly apart isn't just their technology—it's their philosophy about how to deploy it. Rather than trying to create AI that passes for human, they've made a deliberate choice to maintain clear boundaries.

"It was really important for the user to know: I'm talking to technology now, I'm talking to a human now," Prem explains. "We've seen some pitch decks where people are measuring 80% of people thought they were talking to a human. We don't think tricking people is the metric."

This transparency-first approach addresses a critical challenge in AI adoption. As Prem notes, "This really is like the first time since cloud computing I've seen enterprise grade technology like AI where... 83% of people want to use it, but only 27% fully trust it."

When candidates understand how AI is being used in the hiring process and can see how decisions are made, the entire experience becomes more human. Transparency breeds trust, and trust enables better outcomes for everyone involved.

The Future of Work: Managing Human and Artificial Intelligence

Looking ahead, Prem envisions fundamental changes in how we think about work itself. "The future role of a CHRO will be one where you're managing a workforce that includes both human intelligence and artificial intelligence," he predicts.

But this isn't about wholesale replacement. It's about thoughtful integration that preserves what makes us human. "If I'm replacing my EA with AI... do I have someone here to greet people when they come in? We need to ask questions like, is your AI a culture add? Is it actually helping with your culture or not?"

His vision for hiring specifically involves moving toward true two-way matching: "Understanding the most you can about a whole human, not just their job title and resume... and finding a match." Think of it as a "jobs find you model" where the matching is so sophisticated that opportunities in your inbox are genuinely exciting and relevant.

Perhaps most importantly, he sees this as a moment of collective choice: "We're literally now voting for the future we want with the tools we pay for."

Want to hear more? Listen to the full conversation at shiftai.fm where Prem dives deeper into the technical details of building bias-free AI systems, shares more specific advice for job seekers, and discusses his vision for the evolution of workforce management.