Working for minimum wage sucks — and not just because of the pay.

While a mid-tier desk job will hire you on after a handshake and a glance at your resume, minimum-wage jobs make you jump through all sorts of steps before actually giving you paid time. Gone are the days of the interview; now, you’re asked to do nonsense personality tests and fill out three different forms promising you’re not going to steal anything.

If you thought this system was bad enough as it is, it brings me no pleasure to tell you that it’s just gotten worse.

Meet Ash, the new, fun-loving blue creature that’s going to decide if you’re allowed to work for $7.25 an hour.

According to 404media, Ash is part of a service being rolled out to companies like FedEx, McDonald’s and Darden Restaurants (the company that operates Olive Garden and other chain restaurants) called Paradox.ai. The service offers potential workers a personality test that features these blue creatures, to which one is supposed to respond with “me” or “not me.” From your answers, the company will determine whether you’re a worthy hire.

To obtain these pictures, the writer of the 404media piece applied to a job as a bartender for an Olive Garden in New Mexico. They were then presented with *over 80* of these images and asked to respond, at which point they were told their personality type is “Producer.” That’s great, do I have the job?

my first job was dishwashing; my partner had maybe ten teeth and he would eat something off every plate that came to us; every night was his feast https://t.co/aY9Ir1n2kc

— GarbageApe (@GarbageApe) February 14, 2024

While the company has an .ai at the end of their domain, it doesn’t seem like A.I. is involved in the Ash personality quiz (at least, not yet). Instead, the quiz uses your answers to give you The Big Five personality test, which, in turn, is used to assess your suitability for working at the job. Again, the job is “bartender” — and other people referenced in the piece claimed to have taken the test for roles like “dishwasher.” And this isn’t even mentioning the fact that The Big Five personality test is largely bullshit!

i still remember taking a giant quiz that said i didnt have the correct emotional mindset to work at walmarthttps://t.co/XwfjTgGFCm

— Cullen Crawford (@HelloCullen) February 14, 2024

Overall, I can’t say I’m too thrilled about the idea of Ash being in control of my hiring future, no matter how good he is at discussing philosophy.