Red Sox issue statement in response to AI bot interviews report originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox again found themselves in damage control mode on Wednesday.

While dealing with the fallout of the Rafael Devers trade, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was further scrutinized following a bombshell Yahoo! Sports report by Joon Lee. Lee’s report detailed a dysfunctional front office under Breslow’s leadership.

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Lee added another stunning revelation Tuesday on NBC Sports Boston’s Early Edition. According to Lee, the Red Sox used AI (artificial intelligence) bots to conduct several rounds of interviews with a baseball operations job candidate.

“What’s happening with the Red Sox, with Sam Kennedy, with Craig Breslow, with Alex Cora, is a state of organizational dysfunction,” Lee said, as seen in the video player above. “I heard last night about an interview with — the Red Sox were trying to recruit a new person for their baseball operations department, and during this interview process, the entire interview was conducted with an AI bot, where you would record the answers to the questions and then the Red Sox would then evaluate them.

“And this wasn’t just one round. It wasn’t just two rounds. It was five rounds of interviews where this person did not talk to another person in the Red Sox organization.”

On Wednesday, the Red Sox released the following statement addressing Lee’s report:

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“We wanted to reach out to you because we are seeing unsubstantiated reports about the Red Sox using AI bots to hire candidates,” the statement reads, according to MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith. “Since 2012, the club has used a tool called HireVue to screen applicants for all roles across the organization. The Red Sox are one of several MLB clubs to use this tool, which asks candidates to answer a few questions in a recorded video for the hiring manager to get a sense of the person beyond their resume. This is one of several steps in the hiring process and is just one factor that helps determine which candidates should advance to an in-person interview.

“On average, the club receives over 500 applicants per position, and for some roles, as many as 3,000. This tool is in no way a replacement for in-person interviews, simply one of many steps that helps the club screen the many candidates who apply for each job posting.

“We wanted to ensure all of you had this information directly from us and would appreciate your partnership in helping clear up these unsupported claims.”

HireVue is an AI and human resources management company that allows clients to conduct interviews where the job candidate interacts with a computer instead of a human interviewer. Many companies utilize the technology to narrow down candidates early in the interview process, so it’s no surprise that the Red Sox use it with the number of applicants they receive. What stands out from Lee’s report is that the organization allegedly used it for five interview rounds.

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Breslow addressed that part of the report earlier Wednesday, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com.

“I think my short answer is, I’m not sure, because I know that I have had direct conversations with people,” Breslow said. “But like I said, if using this as kind of like a first filter, because the number of people who want to work with [the Red Sox] is so big, it makes sense. Now, I don’t think we can make hiring decisions without actually talking to someone.”

While the Red Sox have been somewhat of a mess off the field, they’ve been red-hot in recent weeks. After taking two out of three in their series against the Seattle Mariners, they’ve won nine of their last nine games and have sole possession of the third American League Wild Card spot at 39-37.

The intriguing Red Sox storylines will continue Friday when the club visits Devers’ new team, the San Francisco Giants.