{
  "id": 12033071,
  "title": "I built my friend a Gemma-powered mock interviewer that talks back, entirely in the browser",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/i-built-my-friend-a-gemma-powered-mock-interviewer-that-talks-back",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-05T00:11:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/927tanmay/i-built-my-friend-a-gemma-powered-mock-interviewer-that-talks-back-entirely-in-the-browser-1o94"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "This story is about a software engineer who created a Gemma-powered mock interviewer application called Interview Room for her friend who is preparing for backend job interviews. The app runs entirely in the browser and uses Whisper, Gemma, Kokoro, and a lip-synced avatar all on-device. Users can choose the track (Frontend, Backend or Machine learning), round (behavioural, technical, HR), their level, answer length, and an interviewer (Ananya, Aarav, or a tough one). The app listens to the user's speech, asks follow-up questions, and provides a report of their performance based on their own marks and the app's measurements. The app doesn't provide scores, and the user is the one to evaluate the answers. The app was built in a single day as part of the Hacktoberfest Weekend Challenge.",
  "summary": "This is a submission for the Hacktoberfest Weekend Challenge: Build for a Friend What I Built My friend is a software engineer applying for backend roles. She's switching after a long time, so interviews feel new again. She has the skills. What makes her hesitant is the conversation itself: saying what she knows out loud, to a stranger, while they listen. She's been practicing on her own, and…",
  "key_points": [
    "Software engineer created Gemma-powered mock interviewer app called Interview Room",
    "Runs entirely in browser with Whisper, Gemma, Kokoro, and lip-synced avatar",
    "Built in single day for Hacktoberfest Weekend Challenge"
  ],
  "editors_take": "This development shows that AI-powered tools can be quickly created to provide personalized and interactive practice experiences, changing how people prepare for job interviews with readily accessible browser-based technology.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}