Jesse was asked five generic interview questions, which included when he had gone the extra mile to help someone and when he had dealt with a big change in his life.

Jesse, who is dyslexic, asked his mum, Louise Hinton-Dench, to help him write his answers, after which he received an AI-generated “personal insights report”.

Both Jesse and his mum felt the report contained sweeping statements which were presumptuous and untrue.

The AI told him “you are not one to try new things easily” and said he might “struggle with distractions” when doing mundane or repetitive tasks.

It complimented Jesse, calling him “self sufficient” and saying he took “pride” in the level of service he provided customers.

“You are trusted by those who know you to always do the right thing and put the needs of others before your own,” it wrote.

Most compliments were undercut by criticisms.

The AI told Jesse: “Your energy is calming,” but “the flip side is people may feel like they don’t really know you.”

In another instance, it told him he could “thrive in his own company” but would have to “work harder to make sure his opinions get heard”.

“It’s basically just giving you a bunch of unwanted feedback that you’ve never asked for,” Hinton-Dench said.

She described her son as “a real go-getter” with a “beautiful heart” who likes to “get off his butt and do something”.

She said Jesse was a trained barista who had worked in cafes, events and customer service roles.

He recently got his licence and bought a moped with the money he had saved from previous jobs.

Hinton-Dench said they lived semi-rurally with limited public transport so her son needed to earn fuel money so he could get around.

“I’m a solo mum, so there is only so much assistance I can give with his independence.”

Hinton-Dench said working at a supermarket was a “rite-of-passage” job for teenagers.

She felt that 16-year-olds who were new to the workforce should not be psychoanalysed by an AI based on a few questions.

“AI thinks it knows everything, but it doesn’t know human interaction.”

The Herald submitted an application to work at Woolworths and completed the Sapia AI interview.

The AI said the applicant was “diligent”, “disciplined” and “highly intuitive”.

It also said the applicant was “more focused on maintaining good relationships than winning” and “may take on the burden of other people’s emotions too quickly”.

“You may be a reluctant participant in social events at work, and you prefer to keep your private life separate from your work life,” one section of feedback read.

“This may hinder your ability to get up to speed quickly at work if that work requires a fair amount of teamwork and collaboration.”

AI expert and computer scientist Michael Whitbrock told the Herald the issues with the insight reports might have less to do with AI and more to do with personality testing in recruitment.

Sapia AI’s website said it created personalised insights for applicants by using linguistic analysis to identify personality traits from the HEXACO model.

The model divided personality traits into six categories: honesty, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience.

Whitbrock said he was “sceptical” of the value of personality profiling and getting AI to ask skills-focussed questions that were relevant to specific roles would be more helpful.

He was unfamiliar with the specifics of Sapia AI but said there was “immense opportunity” to make unpleasant recruitment experiences more personalised and human by using AI effectively.

Rather than using AI services from overseas, he wanted New Zealand to build its own AI capabilities informed by our culture and languages which would understand New Zealand applicants better.

In a statement to the Herald, Woolworths said it was “sorry to learn about the experience of [Jesse] while applying for a role with us”.

“While we use AI as part of our recruitment process for some roles, once we progress to video interview and beyond, AI is not making hiring decisions.”

Woolworths said it provided non-AI assessment alternatives for candidates who requested one or were neurodiverse.

Hinton-Dench said her son had recently handed a physical copy of his CV to the manager of their local Woolworths.

At the time of publication, Jesse was still waiting to hear back about the application.

Sapia has been contacted for comment.

Janhavi Gosavi is a Wellington-based journalist for the New Zealand Herald who covers news in the capital.