I interview people for permanent or intern positions in our research labs and CTO office and one of the things I always ask is what excites them about technology today. If the position is in a particular area (e.g. computer vision) I’ll ask specifically about that area and adjacent areas (e.g. machine learning).

It astounds me how many people can’t answer the question. There are no right or wrong answers, I’m not saying they come up with things that aren’t actually exciting. I’m saying they don’t express an opinion and they don’t convey real enthusiasm for the examples they come up with. In many cases, we’re talking about PhD candidates who should have some knowledge of what is cutting edge right now and what possibilities exist in the near future.

I don’t intend it to be a challenging question. I ask it to set up a foundation for a broader discussion about our customers and the problems we need to solve for them. But I’ve found it to be very effective at uncovering how thoughtful, motivated and inquisitive they are.