key takeaways
- Calkins warns that the use of AI risks reducing the recruitment process to just checking boxes.
- Companies like Google and Salesforce use AI at various points in the hiring process.
an estimated 99% Fortune 500 companies use automation in some part of their hiring process. Now, one CEO is challenging the use of AI to review resumes, arguing that the practice could cause companies to miss out on exceptional candidates.
Matt Calkins, CEO of enterprise software company Appian, denied using AI to screen resumes, according to a report Tuesday. business insiderHe said that AI cannot evaluate applicants objectively.
“We should have been better than that,” Calkins told BI during a recent press dinner. “When we read people’s resumes we want to see the magic in them, and it doesn’t require AI to be like, I don’t know, did you do well in school or something?”
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Calkins warns that relying on AI for resume reviews, being too “modern,” could result in unique individuals being overlooked.
“We’re trying to recruit at a very specific level, and I think if we use AI, we’re going to start having checkboxing,” Calkins said at the dinner.

Companies like Google and Salesforce use AI at various points in the hiring process. Google told BI Earlier this year although humans still review every application it receives, the company uses AI to suggest the right open roles for candidates based on their skills and experience. Meanwhile, Salesforce told BI that it uses AI-powered tools to scan candidates’ resumes for valuable skills like AI literacy.
Calkins says most companies aren’t using AI properly mit study The report released in July revealed that 95% of companies have yet to see returns from generic AI investments. The study, which included interviews with 150 executives and a survey of 350 employees, found that the overwhelming majority of AI pilots do not result in financial savings or increased profits.
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Calkins says the lack of measurable results from AI is due to “ignorance” about how to put the technology to work. He advocates connecting AI to real, high-impact business challenges rather than applications like resume screening.
Calkins mentioned one potential use case – corporate communications – noting that most companies receive millions of pieces of incoming information per day. They can use AI to manage it more efficiently.
Appian’s own internal AI system can understand a wide variety of inputs, including emails, handwritten notes, faxes, and calls, and upload the documents to the correct database with 99% accuracy. Calkins calls it a “wonderful” but also “boring” use case of technology.
“This is the back office,” he said at the press dinner. “If you did a Super Bowl ad about it, no one would understand it.”
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key takeaways
- Calkins warns that the use of AI risks reducing the recruitment process to just checking boxes.
- Companies like Google and Salesforce use AI at various points in the hiring process.
an estimated 99% Fortune 500 companies use automation in some part of their hiring process. Now, one CEO is challenging the use of AI to review resumes, arguing that the practice could cause companies to miss out on exceptional candidates.
Matt Calkins, CEO of enterprise software company Appian, denied using AI to screen resumes, according to a report Tuesday. business insiderHe said that AI cannot evaluate applicants objectively.
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