Civil Service to allow job applicants to use chatbots
Job applicants seeking to work in Whitehall have been told they can use AI to 'enhance' applications or 'improve the clarity and quality' of written answers.
The new rules, which have been published on the Civil Service Careers website, said that to avoid cheating candidates must not use the technology to generate answers in their entirety, or fabricate information.
However, it comes amid growing concerns that job seekers are using AI to deceive employers.
According to a new report from talent management business Talogy, up to 65pc of hiring managers are concerned about chatbots being used to cheat during the recruitment process.
A separate report from Career Group also found that two thirds of job seekers had used AI at some point when applying for jobs.
This has already led to a string of major companies banning candidates from using AI in their job applications, including across the 'big four' accountancy firms.
Monzo, the digital bank, has also warned candidates that they would be disqualified if caught applying with the help of ChatGPT.
However, the decision to embrace AI by the Civil Service reflects a shift in sentiment, particularly as some departments had previously banned chatbots in their entirety.
In one example of acceptable use, the guidance states candidates could 'write a list of examples with details of how you relate your experience and skills to the role, then ask AI to help you structure them using the Star [situation, task, action, result] reformat or other ways to strengthen your examples'.
'The goal of using AI in your job application is to help you show us who you are and what you are good at,' the new careers page states. 'It's not about creating a persona that isn't you.'
In job vacancies advertised for the Department for Transport, the guidance says that applicants can 'ask AI to provide examples of how to describe leadership experiences, then personalise these examples'.
Martin Drake, the founder of Higher, a recruitment firm, says AI use is becoming 'normal and commonplace' in society and the Civil Service's stance is the 'right one'.
The Government is hoping to save billions of pounds with AI and cut the cost of running the Civil Service by 15pc by the end of the decade.
In June, the Government published the results of a trial that claimed AI tools could save the equivalent of two weeks per year per person.
A Civil Service spokesman said: 'We want tech-skilled and AI savvy people to apply to the Civil Service, so we can deliver a fundamentally reformed British state which can deliver on our Plan for Change for working people.
'Our guidance is clear that applications should not use AI to generate full or false responses. The initial written application is only one part of the Civil Service recruitment process.'
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