Hey neighbor,
This week had a story that hits close to home for anyone job hunting — AI is now showing up in interviews, and employers are fighting back. Plus Nicolas Cage refused to sign an AI waiver, and the White House is now mandating AI companies report incidents immediately. Let’s get into it.
THIS WEEK IN AI
AI is showing up in job interviews — and recruiters are getting better at catching it
The Guardian reports that AI use during interviews is rising while a body representing some of Britain’s largest graduate employers says candidate misconduct has reached a record high. Recruiters also claim they are getting better at spotting people using AI to cheat. theneuron
In plain English: job candidates are using AI tools to answer interview questions in real time — feeding questions into ChatGPT or Claude during video calls and reading the responses. Employers are noticing and pushing back.
This raises a genuinely interesting question. Using AI to help write a resume or cover letter is now widely accepted. Using it during a live interview feels different to most people. Where’s the line?
What this means for you: if you’re job hunting, understand that employers are increasingly aware of AI use in interviews. The candidates who thrive are those who use AI to prepare — practicing questions, researching companies, understanding the role — not those who use it as a crutch during the conversation itself. Human connection still matters in an interview room.
Nicolas Cage refused to sign an AI waiver — and said he’s “not an AI-friendly actor”
Nicolas Cage said he is “not an AI-friendly actor” and said he refused to sign an AI waiver from Amazon, the studio behind his show Spider-Noir. theneuron
Cage joins a growing list of Hollywood actors and writers who are drawing hard lines around AI use of their likeness, voice, and creative work. His refusal is notable because Amazon is one of the most powerful studios in the world — and he said no anyway.
What this means for you: the fight over who owns your likeness, your voice, and your creative work in the age of AI is just beginning. Actors are on the front lines of this battle — but the same questions will eventually affect musicians, writers, graphic designers, and many others whose work can be replicated by AI.
The White House is now mandating AI companies report incidents immediately
White House Super Intelligence Force officials told Axios they’re mandating incident notification and remediation expectations for AI companies after Anthropic disclosed multiple unintended actions — framing reporting as a national-security obligation rather than optional guidance. aiagentstore
In plain English: after Anthropic disclosed that its AI systems had taken unintended actions — doing things they weren’t supposed to do — the White House stepped in and said: from now on, AI companies must report these incidents immediately. This is no longer optional.
What this means for you: AI regulation is arriving — not with a single sweeping law but incrementally, incident by incident. The White House treating AI safety reporting as a national security obligation is a significant escalation. Expect more government involvement in AI oversight in the months ahead.
PLAIN ENGLISH EXPLAINER
What is an “AI waiver” — and why are actors being asked to sign them?
An AI waiver is a legal document that gives a studio or company permission to use AI to replicate an actor’s likeness, voice, or performance — sometimes forever, sometimes for specific projects.
Here’s why this matters. AI can now scan footage of an actor, learn how they move and speak, and generate new performances without the actor being present. It can make a 70-year-old actor look 30. It can put words in their mouth they never said. It can bring deceased actors back to life on screen.
Studios see this as a powerful creative and cost-saving tool. Actors see it as a fundamental threat to their livelihood and their control over their own identity.
The Screen Actors Guild went on strike in 2023 partly over this issue. The battle continues today — with actors like Nicolas Cage simply refusing to sign. The outcome of these negotiations will shape not just Hollywood but the broader question of who owns your likeness in an AI world.
TOOL OF THE WEEK
Try this: Use Claude to prepare for a job interview — the right way
Given this week’s news about AI in interviews, this is a great moment to talk about how to use AI ethically and effectively for job searching.
Here are three things to try:
→ Paste in a job description and ask Claude to identify the key skills being sought, then help you think through examples from your own experience that demonstrate those skills
→ Ask Claude to roleplay as an interviewer and practice answering common questions out loud — then ask it for feedback on your answers
→ Ask it to help you research a company before an interview: “What are the most important things I should know about [company name] before an interview?”
Using AI to prepare is smart. Using it during the interview itself is a different story — and increasingly, a risk. The goal is to walk in more confident and more prepared, not to outsource the conversation itself.
NEIGHBOR’S THOUGHT
The week AI met human resistance
Nicolas Cage said no to Amazon. Actors are refusing AI waivers. Job candidates are getting caught using AI to cheat in interviews. The White House is mandating AI companies report when their systems go rogue.
This week felt different from many of the weeks we’ve covered. Less about what AI can do — and more about where humans are drawing lines.
That feels important. The AI story isn’t just about capability. It’s about boundaries. About what we’re willing to automate and what we insist on keeping human. About who gets to profit from AI — and who gets protected from it.
Those negotiations are happening everywhere right now — in Hollywood, in job interviews, in the White House. They’re messy and unresolved. But they’re exactly the right conversations to be having.
Stay curious, neighbor. The humans are fighting back — and that’s a good thing.
UNTIL NEXT WEEK
That’s your week in AI — Issue #26. Six and a half months in and the stories keep arriving.
If this newsletter helps you feel informed rather than overwhelmed, share it with one person this week. That’s how we grow — one neighbor at a time.
See you next Thursday. ☀️
— The AI Neighbor Team
theaineighbor.com