“The answer isn’t more AI — it’s better signal.”

“The answer isn’t more AI — it’s better signal.”

From Psych Tech @ Work by Charles Handler

June 4, 2026 · 54 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the breakdown of traditional hiring signals and explores new ways to identify talent in an AI-driven application landscape.

In this episode I’m joined by Robert Newry , Founder & CEO of the assessment company Arctic Shores and long time champion of doing assessment right! Robert and I (and my AI co-host Mayda Tokens!) dig into one of the most urgent problems in hiring right now: the complete breakdown of traditional hiring signals. We ponder the question- “How do we find the truth in an age where AI has flooded the top of the funnel, made credentials and resumes unreliable, and put enormous pressure on organizations to find new ways to identify talent?” And we come up with some pretty good answers! 1. The Top of the Funnel Is in Chaos The numbers are staggering. Accenture’s global resourcing lead told Robert they’re on pace for 12 million applications this year for roughly 100,000 hires — up from 4 million just three years ago. Same size team. Two and a half times the volume. The culprit isn’t a surge in qualified candidates; it’s AI-powered application tools that let candidates apply to jobs while they sleep. The moral contract between candidates and employers has been broken: candidates assume companies are using AI to screen, so they’re using AI to apply. “It’s chaos out there. Candidates are using…

People in this episode

Host: Charles Handler

Guest: Robert Newry

Topics covered

  • AI in hiring
  • assessment methods
  • candidate experience
  • traditional hiring signals
  • talent identification
  • application chaos

Keywords

  • AI
  • hiring
  • assessment
  • candidates
  • talent
  • recruitment
  • application chaos
  • traditional signals

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Arctic Shores, Accenture

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