You're asking them to explain a technology they use while expecting them to tiptoe around what they're actually allowed to say about how they applied the techno

You're asking them to explain a technology they use while expecting them to tiptoe around what they're actually allowed to say about how they applied the technology. And you say this replaced your system design interviews. It sounds to me like someone explaining what Kubernetes is won't do nearly as well as someone who can explain in-depth how they applied Kubernetes to their job.