The AI Question
"How are you utilizing AI in your daily life?" an interviewer asked me.
There were three candidates in the room. Two men and a woman. The other two had graduated five months ago from one of Seoul's top five universities, probably with degrees in economics or business. I was the last to enter and got the squeaky chair closest to an immaculate glass door. This meant I had to smile and nod as the other two job seekers answered soul-crushing questions like "What do you know about our firm?" and "What makes you different from other candidates?" Normally, interviewers did their best to vary the order so that everyone had a fair chance. This time, they didn't seem to care that I had another six or seven minutes to rehearse my answers in my head. Maybe they took my advantage into account when grading us. I had no idea.
"I'm subscribed to six different AI services. Claude, GPT, Higgsfield, Lex, Suno, Perplexity. You name it, I'm probably paying for it. With AI, I've built an investment portfolio, submitted a movie to a film festival, released a code editor on the App Store, and published an e-book about the Zettelkasten method," the first candidate said.
I knew there would be a question about my relationship with AI. In my previous five interviews, they'd all asked something similar. Whenever AI came up, I could pull one of three answers out of my pocket. The honest answer was: "I don't fucking use AI. I'm not subscribed to any of those services. Why do you even care whether I use AI? I studied anthropology. Don't you guys want someone who actually knows how to write emails and draft reports?" I couldn't say that. The three answers I'd prepared made me sound like either an ardent believer in AI or a passionate student of it.
While eating two boiled eggs that morning, I'd watched a YouTube video of a former Samsung executive giving interview tips to young job seekers. "I cannot stress this enough. Every time they ask you a stupid question, you need to act like it's your first time hearing it," he said. "No one likes scripted answers. They expect your voice to tremble like you're about to ski down a mountain for the first time. They're looking for that one person who doesn't lie during interviews. Act surprised when you hear a question. Say some shit like 'I'm sorry, let me think about that for a second.'"
The video had four hundred views and two comments. "There go five minutes of my precious life," one comment read. "At least this guy is honest," I wrote as the third comment. Throughout the day, his advice echoed in my head like the sound of a singing bowl.
C'mon, Ha-Joon, this time you have to spit it out. I glanced at the Casio on my wrist as I waited for my turn.
Now the interviewer was looking at me. I couldn't remember a word the previous candidate had said. All I could think about was the YouTube video I'd watched four hours earlier. I knew it was time to step onto the stage and pretend the others were sitting in the dark. But for once, I wanted to be honest with myself.
"Let me think about that for one more second," I said.
"What do you mean?" the interviewer asked.
"I mean, I'm not giving you another scripted answer. I don't know what to say. I must say I don't really see the point of this question. I'm sorry I don't use AI in my daily life. I don't think it's useful. I'm sorry this firm's big goal this year is to become an AX company, whatever that even means. I'm sorry I studied humans instead of bots. AI is not the future, at least not to me. That's the best answer I can give you."
"Okay then, I appreciate your honesty," he said, scribbling something on his paper before dismissing us. I knew I'd failed my sixth interview.
On the subway home, I watched another video of the former Samsung executive. Everyone around me was watching or listening to something, trying to detach their minds from their bodies.
"If you get one thing out of my videos, it's this. Companies want quiet servants. They don't want you to be proactive. You need to prove you'll chase whatever ball they throw, even if it means flying to India or missing your best friend's wedding. Show them you're desperate," he said.
I turned off the video and pinched my cheeks. "Ahhhh." I closed my eyes and opened my mouth as wide as I could. No one seemed to notice. The train stopped at a station, and people came and went like wasps in summer. I opened my eyes and typed "What are the most popular AI tools?" into my phone's default AI chatbot. I had enough time to download them all. My stop was sixteen stations away.