That's assuming Automatic really is a great place to work.
Why would anyone believe that Automatic is such a great place to work if they value the time of their candidates so little? If they think it's fine to throw an extra 10 hours/week of work at candidates for little to no pay, how will they treat you once you're salaried?
They may think that this is the one true hiring system, but it's seriously weird.
Other companies have figured out how to hire people without this nonsense. Imagine if this was the standard in the industry. Some company would have the brilliant idea of hiring people without a 2 month trial period and write a breathless blog post about how they're so cool that they hire people based on interviews alone!
HN would go nuts over this forward thinking company that treats its candidates so much better.
What a joke. Work overtime on top of my job for $25/hr and no benefits?
Fact is the companies that are the most open on HN about compensation pay the least (like Gitlab and Buffer).
My theory is that instead of paying more they simply cast a wide net via hiring. If the net's large enough you'll find enough people willing to be paid low rates.
You know who doesn't talk about salary? Companies that pay well and hire devs who know what they're worth.
That said, I refuse to install cameras anywhere except the outside of my house. I don't want a recording of friends coming over and talking to me.