About this episode
“The rules haven’t changed. The technology has — but the rules haven’t.” — Nathan MondragonEpisode OverviewIn this episode, I’m joined by my old friend (and now co-worker!) Nathan Mondragon, an IO psychologist and long-time leader in creating the future at the intersection of assessment science, hiring technology, and applied AI.Nathan and I have lived through multiple waves of “this will change everything” technology — from early online testing to video interviewing, machine learning, and now generative AI. And the beat goes on!Nathan and I have recently joined forces at ProboTalent where we are creating defensible AI based assessment tools.We talk about where AI has genuinely moved the field forward, where it hasn’t, and why so many of the debates we’re having today are versions of conversations we’ve been having for decades. Along the way, we unpack Nathan’s paradigm busting work at HireVue’, and why the fundamentals of good measurement haven’t changed — even as the tools have.Topics Discussed & Key Insights1. The Rules of Good Assessment Haven’t Changed — We Just Keep Forgetting ThemNathan makes a point that anchors the entire episode: while technology has advanced dramatically, the core rules of good assessment — validity, relevance, interpretability, and fairness — are exactly the same.AI doesn’t get a pass on methodology. If anything, it raises the bar for rigor, because mistakes scale faster.2. Early Hiring Tech Was Built to Solve Operational Problems, Not Measurement ProblemsWe talk about the early days of online hiring and assessment, where the primary goal was digitization, not insight. Systems were designed to move paper processes online, not to improve how well we understand people.That legacy still shapes today’s platforms — and explains why so many tools feel efficient but shallow.3. HireVue Was a Real Paradigm Shift — and It Required Scientific CourageNathan reflects on the early days of HireVue and why it was genuinely revolutionary at the time. The breakthrough wasn’t just video — it was the larger shift toward digitizing and scaling structured assessment experiences in a way the field hadn’t seen before.What made this moment interesting from an IO psychology standpoint is that it required a different mindset as a scientist: being willing to engage with a new modality, even when the measurement implications weren’t fully understood yet. Innovation in assessment has always involved tension — between rigor and experimentation, between what’s proven and what’s possible.Nathan shares what it was like to help lead through that transition, and why thoug
