The Australian Defence Force is one of the largest recruiters in Australia. But some roles are harder to fill than others, such as Cryptologic Linguists in the Navy whose primary role is to translate languages. This is a priority role, which means they need to fill them urgently. Exact role numbers required are confidential but the ADF was running critically low. We needed to recruit the best talent to join the Navy and apply for this role, but at the same time tell people what the role entails in an engaging and relevant way.

We enlisted A.I. to help us recruit humans for Cryptologic roles. The main role of a Cryptologic Linguist is to translate languages. And while A.I. can play a big role in the modern workforce, surprisingly it doesn’t always get it right when it comes to language translations.

This campaign takes those mistakes and highlights them. Using one of the world’s most sophisticated A.I. the idea takes real, mistranslated phrases, movie quotes and song lyrics and turns them into advertising.

Artificial intelligence is helping to progress humanity in ways never thought possible. It’s making complex tasks easier than ever. But the flip side is that human occupations are at stake.

More than 7 million Australians are at risk of having their jobs either automated out of existence or augmented by robots and artificial intelligence in the next 15 years, data modelling commissioned by the Australian Computer Society has found.

This can be a daunting proposition for job seekers, one that’s exacerbated by the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Its why we chose to show people that the role of a Cryptologic Linguists wasn’t at threat of being replaced by a machine and that it’s a stable role with rewarding career progression.

Not only did A.I. help write the ads every time we clicked translate, but by using A.I.’s text to voice function, it helped voice our campaign through Spotify and radio ads as well as video posts on social.

The campaign was launched in July 2020 with ads on Spotify, social films across Facebook and Instagram as well as OOH posters in Defence Force recruitment centres. The campaign was intended to run over 4 months but after just one, all roles had been filled by humans more capable than A.I.

The campaign was originally intended to run in two bursts over 4 months, but after just 1 burst, the results were phenomenal, and the Navy achieved their role quota. A dramatic turnaround, considering many Cryptologic Linguist roles were left vacant for periods over the 12 months prior.

• 472% increase in online users to our dedicated job page

• Applications uplift of 1140% year on year with 248 applications

• 620% increase in required applicants

Once word of the campaign got out, a certain tech giant even fixed their A.I. to pick up on the mistakes it made.

Importantly for the Navy, this campaign created a stronger connection to a younger audience, introducing cleverness of language that will resonate for years to come. And for Australia, these new applicants will ensure a vital part of our Defence Force stays functioning at its peak.