Let’s not absolve HR from their hand in this process. They’re the ones that setup ATSs based on keywords they don’t understand, and they’re the ones that do initial contact and interviews, in general anyway.

I’ve worked at quite a few organizations at this point in my life, and only rarely did a hiring manager get more say than a choice among the pre-selected pool that HR provided. When that wasn’t the case for me, it was because the company or organization was too small to have a full team handling HR stuff. Once it was the company’s accountant (sweet lady though).

You’re not wrong, but HR doesn’t really add much to this process when the people with the experience and understanding to choose better employees don’t get to participate until a second round.