At the Royal Society in London, HackerRank brought together talent acquisition, engineering, and L&D leaders to explore one critical theme: how AI is reshaping the future of tech talent. This year’s Tech Talent Summit explored when and how AI can (and should) be used in hiring, what the future holds for tech skills, and what transforming tech hiring means for the AI-first world.
In a creative start, attendees were greeted by a lifelike AI rendering of Ada Lovelace, the world’s first programmer. Her message? We’ve come a long way—and now it’s our turn to shape the future of computing through AI skills and human ingenuity.
Tech leaders gathered at the Royal Society as our AI-host Ada Lovelace kicked off the Tech Talent Summit
Why AI literacy is now a baseline skill in hiring
The day kicked off with a compelling message: AI literacy is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a hiring prerequisite. Whether you’re recruiting accountants or software engineers, assessing candidates for their ability to work with AI tools is becoming standard practice.
Hung Lee, curator of the Recruiting Brainfood newsletter, highlighted how job roles are evolving. In this new era, tech talent needs to be both technically sound and AI-aware. Recruiters and hiring managers must now adapt their evaluation criteria accordingly.
Hung Lee talked about the importance of AI literacy in today’s hiring
Developer realities in an AI-first world
Drawing from HackerRank’s latest Developer Skills Report—which includes data from over 13,000 global developers—Juan Herrera, President at HackerRank, shared eye-opening insights on the developer landscape:
- Three out of four early-career developers find it difficult to land jobs, despite high demand for senior talent.
- Developers are using AI primarily for learning and job performance, not just productivity.
- Roles are consolidating. As AI automates tasks, companies need fewer—but more versatile—technical contributors.
- 56 percent of developers use AI during hiring assessments, raising urgent questions about assessment integrity.
“Integrity is not about whether you use AI or not. Integrity is about whether you’re following the rules.”
Juan also introduced new tools from HackerRank that help companies assess, interview, and upskill developers in an AI-first world—while preserving trust and fairness in the process.
Juan Herrera shared insights from the Developer Skills Report and unveiled new AI-first hiring tools
How UBS reimagined tech hiring and internal mobility
Ross Campbell, Recruiting Head – Group Operations and Technology Office, UBS delivered a candid look at what it takes to navigate workforce transformation at scale. In the wake of the Credit Suisse merger, UBS needed to integrate two massive tech organizations while future-proofing their talent strategy. They focused on three big moves:
- Building a skills taxonomy and talent marketplace to redeploy internal talent.
- Embedding HackerRank assessments across hiring, vendor onboarding, and internal certification programs.
“Everyone, grads, vendors, experienced hires, goes through HackerRank. It’s how we ensure our engineering standards, across the board”
- Equipping employees with AI tools like GitHub Copilot—and preparing them for what’s next.
UBS’s approach is a masterclass in evolution, not disruption—driven by culture, data, and clarity.
Ross Campbell highlighted how UBS reshaped tech hiring with AI & internal mobility using HackerRank
How to evaluate skills in the AI + human world
Anand Gopal, VP of Product Management at HackerRank, previewed HackerRank’s next-gen product capabilities, engineered for the AI-augmented developer. Highlights included:
- AI Interviewer: AI-powered interviewers that assess problem-solving depth, code quality, and AI collaboration skills through contextual hints and progressively challenging questions.
- AI tutor: Simulated real-world coding environments to evaluate practical skills.
- Proctor mode: Simulate a human proctor by setting test rules, detecting real-time suspicious activity, and generating a detailed session report with a full replay.
- Engage assistant: Rediscover and source top developer talent and launch authentic marketing campaigns in minutes.
The message was clear: enterprises need tools that measure both technical skills and AI collaboration capabilities.
To learn more about these products, click here.
Anand Gopal introduced HackerRank’s next-gen AI-powered tools designed for the future of tech hiring & upskilling
Panel discussion on navigating AI use in technical assessments
A closing panel featuring Karen Quanborough (Global Candidate Experience Lead, Accenture), Mark Harman (Global Head of Recruiting Ops, Wise), and Sonam Nath (Senior Manager Talent, Accenture) tackled the complexity of candidate AI usage.
Should candidates be allowed to use tools like ChatGPT during assessments? How do you differentiate between real skills and AI-boosted results?
The panelists agreed: clarity and consistency are essential. Companies must define expectations up front and design assessments that reflect the real working environment—including when and how AI is used.
“This is the next evolution — a unified age where the human that’s powered by AI becomes more effective than just a human.”
– Mark Harman, Global Head of Recruiting Ops, Wise
Our dynamic panel explored the future of AI in hiring, championing clear standards & real-world relevance
Final takeaway: skills over pedigree
The summit closed on a unifying note: the future of hiring belongs to skills-first organizations. The companies that win will be the ones that understand how to measure potential, enable learning, and build trust—whether AI is in the loop or not.
As the sessions wrapped, the energy carried into lively networking and shared laughs
To access your pictures from the event, visit here, and to learn more about our findings from the developer skills report, visit here.