Sorry, but your glitchy connection might have cost you that job

Sorry, but your glitchy connection might have cost you that job

Summary

A new study, reported in Nature, finds that audiovisual glitches on video calls harm interpersonal judgements and influence consequential real-world decisions. Researchers led by Melanie Brucks at Columbia ran experiments and analysed live data to show that connection issues reduce hiring recommendations, lower patient confidence in healthcare interactions, and decrease chances of being granted parole in online hearings.

The team tested over 3,000 participants viewing simulated job interviews, surveyed 497 people on healthcare consultations, and examined 472 actual online court hearings. They conclude that glitches create an “uncanniness”—distorted faces, misaligned audio-visual cues and choppy movement—that breaks the illusion of face-to-face interaction and systematically biases outcomes. The paper warns that higher-bandwidth innovations (3D, VR, augmented reality) may worsen the problem if infrastructure doesn’t keep pace.

Key Points

• Glitches on video calls led to fewer hiring recommendations in experiments with 3,000+ participants.
• Healthcare consultations marred by connection issues reduced patient confidence (77% vs 61% confident in glitch-free vs glitchy calls).
• Analysis of 472 online court hearings showed that poor connections reduced the likelihood of parole being granted.
• Researchers attribute the effect to “uncanniness”—technical artefacts that undermine perceived social presence, not merely inconvenience or comprehension problems.
• Future, more immersive conferencing tech (3D, VR) could amplify the problem unless network infrastructure and priorities change.

Context and relevance

This research matters because so many high-stakes interactions have moved online: recruitment, healthcare, legal proceedings and more. The findings highlight a practical equity issue — people with poorer connections or older hardware may suffer systematic bias. It also intersects with ongoing debates about remote work, digital infrastructure investment, and how far virtual interactions can substitute for in-person meetings.

Why should I read this?

Short version: your dodgy Wi‑Fi isn’t just annoying — it could be actively costing people jobs, trust in doctors, or even freedom. It’s a neat, scary reminder that tech glitches have real-world consequences, and that decisions made over video aren’t neutral.

Author style

Punchy: This isn’t academic fluff — the study flags a tangible bias built into our increasingly virtual interactions. If you manage hiring, healthcare delivery, court tech or remote teams, the details here are worth a read.

Source

Source: https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2025/12/04/glitchy_video_calls_research/