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Happy Friday! What do Lauren Sánchez, Katy Perry, and Gayle King have in common? They are part of the first all-women space crew since 1963. Sánchez is leading the six-person crew on an 11-minute journey on one of her fiancé Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rockets.
In today's big story, Amazon's love affair with AI doesn't extend to job candidates using it during interviews.
What's on deck
Markets: Goldman Sachs pulls back on DEI language in its annual report. It says it's just following the law.
Tech: Internal xAI documents show how workers are instructed to suss out "woke ideology" and "cancel culture" in Elon Musk's chatbot.
Business: Netflix isn't losing sleep over your canceled subscription. In fact, you'll probably be back.
But first, AI for me, but not for interviewees.
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Tech companies love AI. Just don't try to use it to get a job at one.
Amazon created guidelines for its internal recruiters to sniff out job candidates who might be using AI during the hiring process, writes Business Insider's Eugene Kim.
The tech giant's stance is that AI tools give candidates an "unfair advantage" that doesn't allow Amazon to evaluate their "authentic" skills, according to guidelines Eugene obtained.
As a reminder, this is the same Amazon pouring billions of dollars into AI development in the hopes that AI tools become a key part of people's personal and professional lives. The same Amazon encouraging employees to use its AI chatbot at work. The same Amazon that would love to have its AI-powered Alexa+ in homes across America.
With all that AI encouragement, it's not surprising candidates would turn to these tools to give themselves the best chance possible, especially when the market for tech jobs is so tough.
Dealing with AI-powered interviewees isn't just an Amazon problem.
For about as long as AI chatbots have been around, people have been figuring out how to use them to cheat get an advantage.
BI's Rob Price has covered the topic extensively, writing about the "magic teleprompter" apps that feed candidates answers.
Sometimes, using AI is just about passing a technical test to get a raise or to land a job. Other times, the tools are shadow stand-ins for people, doing some, if not all, of their actual work.
While the latter might sound egregious, using AI tools to get a job that'll require you to use AI tools doesn't seem that out of line. Imagine if you had to try out for a track team but weren't allowed to wear running shoes. Why ban someone from using something they'll eventually need to succeed?
I put that question to a tech recruiter. They said the problem is candidates solely relying on AI tools instead of having their own logic and general knowledge. It's a big issue, particularly with younger candidates fresh out of college, they added.
Still, it's not like candidates haven't been trying to get an edge on interviews for years. The recruiter mentioned the 2008 book "Cracking the Coding Interview," which includes programming questions commonly asked during interviews.
Sometimes, the recruiter has to stay a step ahead, like asking follow-up questions the chatbots might have trouble managing.
And if all else fails, maybe AI can help with the AI problem.
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1. xAI is training Grok in anti-wokeness. BI reviewed internal xAI documents outlining how AI tutors should "spot bias" and look out for "woke ideology" and "cancel culture" in its chatbot Grok's responses. Tutors are told to consider the company's "guiding principles," which include "do not moralize, preach, or judge." Some workers said they felt the training methods prioritize right-wing beliefs, while a researcher said he believes Grok's approach can differentiate it from other chatbots. Check out some of the sample prompts and responses tutors were shown.
2. Googlers are using a Google Doc to track Google's layoffs. The tech giant cut jobs across its Cloud, ads, and Trust & Safety teams this week. It follows smaller, surgical cuts across the company over the past few months, employees said. In an effort to track the layoffs, current employees have circulated a crowdsourced Google Doc reviewed by BI.
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2. I just can't quit you, Netflix. The streaming giant isn't worried if you cancel your subscription — data from the analytics company Antenna suggests it'll probably win you back quickly. In 2023, 61% of subscribers who canceled were back on the platform within a year. That win-back rate far surpasses Netflix's streaming rivals' average of 45%.
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The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.
