Choosing the Right People in the Age of AI
Talent Selection in the Age of AI
Choose the Right People with Human-Centered Approach
AI is profoundly reshaping talent management in China. According to the Zhaopin AI-Enabled Workplace White Paper (2025), 72% of companies have applied AI tools in recruitment, with nearly half focusing on resume screening and initial interview automation. However, over 65% of HR professionals believe that AI cannot adequately recognize human potential and values.
As the world’s second-largest digital economy, China is leading in AI adoption, but this also exposes the tension between technology and humanity: efficiency gains may come at the cost of understanding and respecting people.
This article focuses on the core stages of talent selection in the AI era - interviews and assessment centers, and explores how human judgment remains indispensable even with AI support. True competitiveness lies not in algorithmic speed, but in human insight.
AI Reshapes Selection Processes: Machines Filter, Humans Decide
AI demonstrates undeniable efficiency in initial resume screening. For example, Alibaba’s AI recruitment system can process tens of thousands of resumes daily, reducing initial screening time by more than 80%. Yet, research by E-Route Human Cloud indicates that the “misjudgment rate” in senior positions can reach 23%, meaning some high-potential candidates may be rejected due to semantic differences or behavioral traits.
Practice shows that AI can handle data and preliminary judgment, but final hiring decisions still require human intervention. For example:
Tencent’s “Human-AI Collaborative Interview”: AI handles structured questions and emotion analysis, while human interviewers observe interactions and emotional responses;
JD.com’s collaboration with the Huaxia Psychological Research Institute: ensures cultural adaptability and psychological safety during assessments.
AI is treated as a “magnifier” rather than a “judge,” helping HR focus on key candidates, while human interviewers ensure fairness and depth. The Beijing Normal University’s Psychological Assessment Center notes: “AI can quantify data but cannot understand the ‘truth in the eyes.’” This is precisely the value of Assessment Centers.
From Credentials to Competencies Profiling: Assessment Centers
Report (2025), the weighting of “actual skills” in Chinese talent models has increased from 36% in 2020 to 58% in 2024. Skills-based hiring is emerging as the new prevailing trend.
Assessment Centers evaluate not only "what candidates have done" but also "what they are capable of becoming."
External perspectives are crucial in helping organizations define critical competency maps. For example:
Huawei established a Leadership Assessment Center, integrating AI reports with human observation scoring, achieving 95% position matching accuracy;
China Mobile incorporated scenario exercises with AI voice recognition analysis in its assessment centers, yet final ratings are determined by humans to ensure fairness and cultural fit.
This “dual-track assessment” demonstrates that AI ensures structure and consistency, while humans provide insight and nuance. Outcomes indicate: candidate satisfaction increased by 34%, and interviewer bias decreased by 27%.
The Art of Integration: AI Handles Data, Humans Handle the Soul
The China HR Digitalization White Paper (2024) identifies two major risks of AI in recruitment: algorithmic bias and "cultural misalignment."
AI learns from historical data, which often contains implicit biases (e.g., gender, age, educational background). Through external auditing and process design, AI can be provided with ethical guardrails and human intervention. For instance, a large state-owned enterprise found AI biased toward candidates from coastal regions; after refining the training data, recruitment diversity metrics improved by 18%.
The best integration path is:
“AI provides data; humans make the value-driven judgments.” - Renmin University Labor and Human Resources Institute, Talent Assessment Team (2025)
In Assessment Centers, assessors oversee the entire process, from individual interviews to team exercises, ensuring human judgment dominates and avoiding AI “black box” risks.
Candidate Experience: From “Algorithmic Coldness” to Human-Centered Selection
Candidate experience is a hidden asset for employer branding. The Zhaopin AI Recruitment Experience Survey shows that 68% of candidates worry about feeling powerless if filtered out by machines, whereas sincere feedback from interviewers is key to alleviating anxiety.
In practice, reviewing interview processes, designing AI explanation mechanisms, and providing feedback ensures candidates understand evaluation criteria and growth directions.
A human-centered experience has become a competitive differentiator. AI screens resumes; HR selects hearts.
Conclusion
AI does not replace humans; it calibrates value. By maintaining human dominance in key stages, organizations can effectively balance technology and culture.
In China’s AI-era talent selection, technology is the tool, and humanity is the winning factor.
References:
1. Zhaopin. AI-Enabled Workplace White Paper, 2025.
2. E-Route Human Cloud. AI Recruitment Application Report, 2024.
3. Beijing Normal University, Psychological Assessment Research Center. Research on Psychological Assessment in Corporate Selection, 2025.
4. McKinsey. China Talent Trends Report, 2025.
5. Renmin University, Labor and Human Resources Institute. Talent Assessment Methods and Practices, 2025.
6. China HR Digitalization White Paper, 2024.
7. Zhaopin. AI Recruitment Experience Survey, 2025.
8. Huawei Leadership Assessment Center and Skills Matching Case, 2024–2025.
9. China Mobile Assessment Center: Scenario Exercises + AI Voice Recognition, 2024–2025.
10. Alibaba AI Resume Screening System Data, 2024–2025.
11. Tencent Human-AI Collaborative Interview Practice, 2024–2025.
12. JD.com & Huaxia Psychological Research Institute Talent Assessment Collaboration, 2024–2025.
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