Only a few months ago, vibe coding was hot.

Instead of coding line by line, vibe coding has AI write the code for you using just a few well-worded chat prompts. The phrase was coined in February 2025 and it took off fast, letting people without deep technical skills spin up impressive-looking projects quickly. For a moment, it felt like developers were on the verge of becoming obsolete.

That’s not what happened.

We’ve seen multiple vibe coded projects collapse under their own weight, or introduce serious security flaws that put users at risk. AI is an essential tool for developers, and it’s meaningfully boosting productivity. Vibe coding, though, is now more often the butt of jokes than the future of software.

Many vibe coded projects follow a predictable pattern:

1. AI generates a system

2. Humans trust it without understanding it

3. Something goes wrong

That dynamic is exactly what we’ve seen in TA tech: blind trust in automated outputs, right up until something forces everyone to look under the hood.

That something is the Eightfold complaint. Last week, I asked how the lawsuit is affecting your willingness to use AI in the screening process. Over two-thirds of the poll respondents said the lawsuit has already made them more cautious.

Some have pointed out that the core of the Eightfold suit is about consumer protection under the FCRA, not a referendum on the use of AI in screening. 

That framing is correct, but it misses the larger point. The lawsuit is significant because it marks the beginning of the end of the black-box era in TA tech, where buyers are expected to rely on AI magic to spit out matches, rankings, and recommendations.

Does this pattern look familiar?

1. AI makes hiring recommendations, some of which function in practice as de facto hiring decisions

2. TA teams rely on those outputs without fully understanding the inputs or logic

3. Something goes wrong (like the Eightfold complaint)

The Eightfold suit has put TA leaders on notice that they need to understand what is happening under the hood, what data is being used, and how decisions are being made.

Going forward, selling the “magic” of AI is not going to work nearly as well. Products that are effective, transparent, and able to document their processes are going to win.

The era of blind trust in AI is coming to an end.

This is going to be a big topic of conversation at the ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit this May in Atlanta. You’ll hear how TA leaders are evaluating AI tools, and making the outputs explainable to stakeholders. 

The partial agenda is now live, and we’re adding more sessions daily.

RIS is built to elevate practitioner voices from inside talent acquisition, the leaders who are navigating rapid change and sharing what’s working. This week, we announced more speakers, including:

• Erin Walker, Vice President of Recruitment Marketing at Teach For America

• Jay Olson, Director, Global TA at Medtronic

• Hannah Rodriguez, US Head of TA at Zip

We’ve already sold out our second batch of special pricing. Early-bird pricing runs through March 1, and the best way to lock in your spot is to register now while the remaining discounted tickets are still available.

— David

P.S. If you found this newsletter valuable, chances are your colleagues will too. Feel free to forward it along—and if it landed in your inbox by way of a friend, you can subscribe here to get the next one directly.

Featured Story

Why Human Experience Trumps AI in Crisis, Transformation, and Cultural Integration

In this excellent piece, Ravi Subramanian draws from his personal experiences in TA in times of change and crisis to make the argument that AI can’t replace leadership. AI can support those leaders with speed and insight, but the final calls still belong to people who have earned their judgment through real-world complexity. (ERE)

More Recruiting Insights

Frequent Use of AI in the Workplace Continued to Rise in Q4. Gallup’s latest data shows workplace AI use continued to rise in Q4 2025. Frequent use rose to 26% in of US workers, but the use varied widely by seniority, with leaders reporting frequent use of AI nearly twice as much as individual contributors. Industry adoption also varied widely. Tech led the way, with roughly six in ten workers using AI frequently and about three in ten using it daily. (Gallup)

Employment Commission Chair Recasts Workplace Discrimination in Trump’s Image. The EEOC has always been political, but like so many government departments in the Trump administration, their goal seems to be the undoing of all the work that came before. In October, the commission dismissed seven cases it had brought on behalf of transgender and gender-nonconforming people, and is now focused on rooting out DEI practices. (NYT)

The 2025 Work Tech Bifurcation: Why the "Messy Middle" is Disappearing. George LaRocque’s latest analysis says that in 2025 investment in WorkTech rose 10.4% to $6.2 billion even as deal count fell 16%, with the market split between AI-native innovators and category leaders. TA tech investment was $1.2 billion. (WorkTech)

Conferences

ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit

Atlanta, GA
May 5-6, 2025

The ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit is a practitioner-led event built for talent acquisition leaders who want real answers, not hype. Join us for practical sessions, meaningful peer connection, and live “Ask Me Anything” office hours with our speakers.

If you care about where recruiting is headed and want ideas you can put to work immediately, you belong in this room.

(ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit)