Civil service weighs in-person interviews amid suspected AI impersonation

The civil service is considering bringing back face-to-face interviews for some major recruitment schemes after officials found signs that applicants were using AI bots in virtual assessments. Whitehall also plans to move away from personal statements, which officials say have lost value as AI makes it easy to submit large numbers of generic applications.

One virtual interview was ended early because officials suspected the candidate was not human. Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo has also promised simpler recruitment and action on poor performance. The article cites a fraud case involving Kashim Chowdhury, who held up to five civil service jobs, and says at least 301 public sector employees have been flagged for secretly drawing salaries from multiple jobs since 2016. The civil service had more than 442,000 full-time employees last year, up from 316,790 in 2016.