our manager tried to create an objective promotion shortlist with ai. the inputs included performance notes, project summaries, and feedback from colleagues
when we reviewed the rankings, the top candidate was someone who wrote enthusiastic status updates but hadn't led a major project. another colleague, who quietly solved difficult technical problems, appeared near the bottom
i asked whether the model was measuring results or simply reacting to how positively people were described. management couldn't explain the weighting
we stopped treating the rankings as a decision and required evidence-based human review. the cheerful email writer continued sending encouraging messages about our growth journey