Defense: Air Force entrusts recruitment management to start

The company will pre-select job applications for the French Air Force using AI.

An illustration shows a Rafale aircraft ©AFP / PHILIPPE LOPEZ

The Air and Space Force has selected the French start-up Gojob, specializing in temporary recruitment with artificial intelligence solutions, to manage all its personnel needs, the company announced on Monday, April 13.

After a testing phase, Gojob has deployed its AI solution since April 1st “to manage and pre-qualify all applications and recruitments for the institution, about 70,000 files per year,” according to a press release. “There are 4,000 people to recruit every year permanently. This remains an extremely important issue,” said General Philippe Hirtzig, director of human resources for the Air and Space Force, to AFP. The institution recruits in 50 professions, from cook on an air base to helicopter pilot, he added.

The initial AI selection will prioritize applications meeting specific criteria such as age (must be of legal age to join the Army) and nationality (must be a French citizen, except to join the Foreign Legion). This will allow the most relevant applications to be quickly prioritized before the Army recruiters take over and contact the candidates directly.

BIAS OF ALGORITHMS

As recruitment with the help of AI gradually becomes more commonplace, it continues to spark debate due to the biases of algorithms that can replicate or amplify discrimination.

Thanks to the tests conducted beforehand, “we can assure that the biases of artificial intelligence are not discriminatory,” said General Philippe Hirtzig, adding that “sampling checks” will be conducted.

“All our models can be audited,” assured Benjamin Vallat, deputy general manager of Gojob, explaining that safeguards have been put in place to structure the data and avoid biases.

Founded in 2015, Gojob, which also collaborates with France Travail, reported a turnover of nearly 200 million euros in 2025. “It has around 250 employees spread between France and the United States.”