He was three weeks into a hundred-and-seventeen-application sprint when he met the screening bot. It asked how many years of supervisory experience he had. The options ended at “5+ years.” He answered: “six — several decades, emotionally.” The bot was unmoved.
He asked which option was closest to several decades, emotionally. It told him to comply. He settled on five, noting he was underselling himself emotionally. Only the integer five could advance the workflow.
Then a genuine defect. The bot asked him to choose from the selections “shown above.” The selections were below the instruction. He pointed this out — “minor issue, turn six.” The bot repeated itself. “Defect reproduced,” he wrote. The bot repeated itself again.
He finished the application anyway. The bot thanked him, promised a reply within three business days, and then, shortly after, stopped responding altogether.