By Mark Knowlton
The name of George Orwell has likely been invoked more times in the last 3 years than it has in the previous 30.
Orwell’s transcendent book “1984” offered this line to encapsulate his cautionary tome:
“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”
The point Orwell is making is that in a world where truth is rewritten and freedom is forbidden, the greatest rebellion is to remember what it means to be human.
Artificial Intelligence has been spidering its way into every HR Tech product, from brand new VC-funded upstarts to legacy behemoths still in the game and the Unicorns who are looking to grab an even bigger piece of the pie.
AI is no longer a future concept in HR – it’s here, embedded in everything from resume screening to performance management. However, as AI becomes more powerful, so does a lingering question in the minds of recruiters and HR professionals: Will AI replace Recruiters?
The answer depends on how we choose to define and deploy it.
At TechScreen, we believe there’s a better path forward – one that embraces both the power of AI and the irreplaceable strengths of human recruiters. Today, we’re introducing a new category to the HR Tech product landscape: Human-Centric AI.
What Is Human-Centric AI?
Human-Centric AI refers to tools that work with recruiters rather than replacing them. It’s a category of AI that collaborates, supports and enhances human decision-making – where both humans and AI contribute unique value to solve complex business problems. The AI brings speed, pattern recognition and data processing; the recruiter brings judgment, empathy and strategic insight.
This stands in direct contrast to what we call Pure AI (or Autonomous AI) – tools that execute entire processes independently, without requiring human intervention after setup.
Before anyone spits out their coffee to scream, “Hey, have you heard of IBM or Gartner Group?!”, take a chill pill
. We are intimately aware that those groups and others have written about the value of collaboration between humans and AI systems. We acknowledge this groundwork – concepts like human-in-the-loop AI and augmented intelligence have been widely explored by these industry leaders.
However, we are taking a distinct step forward by delineating two clear product categories within HR Tech: Human-Centric AI products partner with humans to enhance decision-making. Pure AI products fully automate processes with minimal human involvement.
Far from ignoring the contributions of IBM, Gartner and others, we build on their insights to propose a new framework. We want to draw a distinction to explicitly declare that HR tech should align AI products into these categories, offering clarity and purpose to how the industry adopts and evaluates AI tools.
To understand the difference, let’s look at both categories in action.
Bucket 1: Pure AI – Efficiency Through Automation
Pure AI tools autonomously execute transactional tasks like scheduling, assessments and early screening. There is an emerging category of tools called ‘Agentic AI’ that are essentially in the Pure AI bucket because they are engaging with users independently.
Agentic AI has characteristics that make them Pure AI in that they have targeted goals, can make independent decisions, can do complex planning and execute tasks like accessing APIs or generating code. Agentic AI has some tools that ask for a confirmation before taking an action or can escalate if they encounter an error, however they are largely autonomous. They shine in high-volume scenarios where speed and consistency matter more than nuance. They shine in high-volume scenarios where speed and consistency matter more than nuance.
Examples:
• HackerRank: Candidates complete coding challenges on their own, and HackerRank’s AI evaluates submissions for correctness, efficiency and best practices. Recruiters receive an automatically generated score and performance report, but don’t engage with the candidate until the AI has completed its assessment.
Why It’s Pure AI: The recruiter initiates the test; the AI handles evaluation autonomously.
• Paradox.ai (Olivia): Olivia is a conversational AI that automates early-stage hiring tasks like screening, scheduling and candidate Q&A. Once configured, it interacts directly with candidates via chat or SMS, requiring no real-time recruiter input to manage logistics.
Why It’s Pure AI: Olivia runs the full conversation loop independently after setup.
• HireVue: This platform prompts candidates to answer pre-recorded video questions, then uses AI to analyze tone, expressions and language for performance predictions. Recruiters simply review the AI-generated report – there’s no live interview or manual scoring involved.
Why It’s Pure AI: The AI conducts and evaluates interviews without recruiter participation.
• Textio: This tool creates optimized, inclusive job descriptions using predictive language analytics. Recruiters provide job data and the AI returns a polished, ready-to-post draft – no back-and-forth edits or human collaboration required.
Why It’s Pure AI: The AI delivers a finished product without needing human refinement.
• OptimHire: Their AI agent automates the full front-end of hiring – sourcing, screening, messaging and scheduling – reducing hiring cycles dramatically. Recruiters are only brought in at later decision points, if at all.
Why It’s Pure AI: The AI handles all early-stage recruiting tasks on its own.
These tools reduce recruiter effort dramatically – but often at the cost of flexibility, personalization and ethical oversight. As Recruiting Toolbox CEO John Vlastelica puts it: “Top talent demands engaged and effective interviewers, they won’t settle for ‘good enough.’ ”
Bucket 2: Human-Centric AI – Collaboration Over Replacement
Human-Centric AI tools act as co-pilots. They provide insights, automate busywork and surface suggestions – but always with the human recruiter in the loop, making key decisions and providing context.
Examples:
• AI Verify: Our ground-breaking platform empowers the recruiter to conduct and score a technical interview. It analyzes the candidate’s responses against a curated knowledge base of factual technical content across languages like Java, C#, Python, etc. The AI doesn’t just score answers – it makes editorial observations that help managers understand not just what a candidate knows, but how they think and the potential impact of their decisions. The recruiter also receives an unparalleled experiential learning immersion while listening to the technical explanations that AI Verify analyzes and documents.
Why It’s Human-Centric AI: The recruiter remains in control of the process while the AI enriches decision-making with expert-level analysis.
• Lattice: HR teams gather open-ended employee feedback and performance data. The platform’s AI sifts through these inputs to identify meaningful patterns – surfacing trends in morale, manager effectiveness or engagement levels. But it’s the HR leader who takes the baton, interpreting the results and deciding which strategic actions to take.
Why It’s Human-Centric AI: AI reveals the insights, but the human makes the decisions that drive cultural and operational change.
• Eightfold.ai: When recruiters input a candidate or employee’s background, Eightfold.ai uses its powerful AI engine to recommend personalized career paths, skill-building opportunities or internal mobility options. These suggestions spark conversations, but they’re not the end point. The recruiter contextualizes the recommendations, aligning them with business needs, cultural fit and the candidate’s aspirations.
Why It’s Human-Centric AI: The AI proposes options, but the recruiter leads the conversation and tailors the outcome.
• Witty: It functions like a live editor for inclusivity. As recruiters write job descriptions or candidate communications, Witty’s AI flags language that may introduce bias – whether subtle or overt. But the recruiter stays in control, deciding what to revise and how to align language with the company’s values and tone. It’s AI with an ethical compass, guided by human hands.
Why It’s Human-Centric AI: The AI flags issues, but the human shapes the final message with intent and awareness.
• SeekOut and Juicebox: These both search across public and proprietary databases to surface talent aligned with specific criteria. The AI narrows the field efficiently – but the real magic happens when recruiters take over. They evaluate candidates, personalize outreach using AI-assisted templates and decide who advances. The tools scale effort, but human expertise shapes the outcome.
Why It’s Human-Centric AI: AI accelerates discovery, but recruiters direct the process and make the critical engagement decisions.
Here, AI is additive – it enhances the recruiter’s workflow rather than attempting to replace it. As LinkedIn’s Jennifer Shappley says: “You’re going to see more recruiters adopting AI … because they’re going to get more comfortable in the ways that it actually makes their job easier.”
Why This Distinction Matters
Codifying Human-Centric AI as its own category allows us to frame the conversation around augmentation, not replacement. It helps reduce the anxiety HR teams often feel when AI enters the picture.
Key benefits of Human-Centric AI:
• Preserves human judgment in ethical, cultural and strategic decisions.
• Improves efficiency without losing nuance or empathy.
• Elevates recruiter roles by automating low-value tasks, freeing time for relationship-building and problem-solving.
As Terri Horton, Workforce Futurist, puts it: “Recruiters who become fluent in AI and leverage the tools to free up more time for the human aspects of recruiting will continue to lead talent efforts through the rest of the decade.”
The Evolving Role of the Recruiter
Industry leaders agree that the recruiter’s role isn’t disappearing – it’s evolving:
• Leela Srinivasan, CMO at Lever: “AI will save recruiters a ton of time … They should re-invest that time in the things AI can’t replicate, like building human rapport.”
• Amy Volas, CEO of Avenue Talent Partners: “A good recruiter will never be replaced … Technology allows recruiters to focus on the important elements that will always require personal interaction.”
• Hung Lee, Editor of Recruiting Brainfood: “The recruiter role could change from talent acquisition to talent fulfillment … Recruiters will go in and deliver those skills.”
• Maisha Cannon, AI Ethicist and Recruiter: “A good artificial intelligence system is not just capable, but also ethical.”
Human-Centric AI ensures these ethical and human dimensions remain front and center.
Human-Centric AI in Action: Where It’s Going
This category isn’t just theoretical – it’s already here. Tools like Deel Engage, LinkedIn Hiring Assistant, and Workday’s Recruiter Agent balance automation with human oversight, illustrating how the best AI tools are built for collaboration, not control.
Even conversational tools like Paradox.ai’s Olivia, when integrated thoughtfully, can move from Pure AI to Human-Centric AI – if recruiters are looped in during later stages.
Conclusion: The Future Is Human-Centric
The most effective HR Tech isn’t about choosing between humans and machines. It’s about combining the best of both. Human-Centric AI represents this future – where AI handles the heavy lifting and humans lead with insight, empathy and purpose.
As Harley Lippman, CEO of Staffing firm Genesis10, says: “AI empowers HR to take a proactive approach … elevating leadership capabilities.”
And Scott Parish, CEO of AI interview platform Hireguide, adds: “AI isn’t replacing humans – it’s enabling a process rooted in evidence.”
“Human-Centric AI”: A New Era of AI-Powered Collaboration in HR Tech
At TechScreen, we’re proud to be part of this shift, with tools like AI Verify leading the way. Join us in redefining what AI means in recruitment – not as a replacement for the human touch, but as its most powerful ally.
The Limits of Pure AI: Efficiency Without Empathy
The tools above represent the frontier of Pure AI in HR Tech – systems that operate with impressive efficiency, consistency and scale. They’re built for speed and volume, excelling in high-throughput use cases like early-stage screening, technical assessment or frontline hiring. For organizations managing thousands of applicants, Pure AI tools like HackerRank, Paradox.ai and HireVue deliver immediate value by compressing timelines, reducing administrative overhead and offering standardized results.
But speed comes with trade-offs.
While these platforms can process data faster than any human, they operate without context. They don’t know your company’s culture. They can’t read between the lines of a candidate’s experience. They don’t pause to ask follow-up questions that reveal true motivation – or consider edge cases where a candidate’s potential isn’t easily captured by structured inputs.
I even commented on this as a guest on the HR.com podcast “AI in HCM: You Need the Humans More than Ever”. ATS systems are wired to look for certain buzzwords and internal applicants could easily get overlooked because AI is not putting weight on their institutional knowledge. This dramatically undermines internal mobility.
This is where Human-Centric AI stands apart. Rather than replacing the recruiter, Human-Centric AI partners with them – augmenting their ability to make smarter, faster and more equitable decisions without sacrificing nuance or empathy. These are tools that understand the value of human oversight, ethical judgment and personal connection.
In short:
• Pure AI says, “Here’s the answer.”
• Human-Centric AI says, “Here’s insight – let’s decide together.”
For modern hiring teams, the choice isn’t just between old ways and automation. It’s between transactional AI and collaborative intelligence. As the demands of recruitment grow more complex – balancing DEI, speed, personalization and long-term fit – Human-Centric AI offers a future where AI doesn’t just do the work … it helps you do your best work.
About TechScreen
TechScreen pioneered the concept of empowering a recruiter to become the manager’s co-pilot by doing the initial technical interview. Now our AI Verify is the Recruiter’s co-pilot, doing a deep analysis of the candidate’s performance in an interview conducted by the Recruiter.