I think it comes down to fasle negatives vs false positives. A company is in a far better situation if they don't hire a good candidate than if they hired a bad

I think it comes down to fasle negatives vs false positives. A company is in a far better situation if they don't hire a good candidate than if they hired a bad one. So asking algorithm questions and brain teasers, while not a perfect science, is not a bad way to screen fro general intelligence, which hopefully the company can mold into an efficient employee.