Japanese company replaces office workers with artificial intelligence - Polidicks

[quote]A future in which human workers are replaced by machines is about to become a reality at an insurance firm in Japan, where more than 30 employees are being laid off and replaced with an artificial intelligence system that can calculate payouts to policyholders. Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance believes it will increase productivity by 30% and see a return on its investment in less than two years. The firm said it would save about 140m yen (£1m) a year after the 200m yen (£1.4m) AI system is installed this month. Maintaining it will cost about 15m yen (£100k) a year. The move is unlikely to be welcomed, however, by 34 employees who will be made redundant by the end of March. The system is based on IBM’s Watson Explorer, which, according to the tech firm, possesses “cognitive technology that can think like a human”, enabling it to “analyse and interpret all of your data, including unstructured text, images, audio and video”. The technology will be able to read tens of thousands of medical certificates and factor in the length of hospital stays, medical histories and any surgical procedures before calculating payouts, according to the Mainichi Shimbun. While the use of AI will drastically reduce the time needed to calculate Fukoku Mutual’s payouts – which reportedly totalled 132,000 during the current financial year – the sums will not be paid until they have been approved by a member of staff, the newspaper said.[/quote] [url]https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/05/japanese-company-replaces-office-workers-artificial-intelligence-ai-fukoku-mutual-life-insurance[/url]

Can't forget that any of us could be next. We need to be prepared for this change with strong social programs.

We're going to reach the point where the only job left a robot can't perform is reality television star. Have fun future humanity, hopefully I'm long dead before we reach that point :v: [editline]5th January 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Biotoxsin;51627393]Can't forget that any of us could be next. We need to be prepared for this change with strong social programs.[/QUOTE] I foresee a neo-Luddite movement in the future.

More reason that we'll start to see universal incomes pop up. I could see UIs in the US in our lifetime.

[QUOTE=Apollo2947;51627411]More reason that we'll start to see universal incomes pop up. I could see UIs in the US in our lifetime.[/QUOTE] In the US? That's a joke. China will have it before the US will. Out of all western nations, we are usually the last to adopt any kind of progressive thing like that.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;51627397]We're going to reach the point where the only job left a robot can't perform is reality television star. Have fun future humanity, hopefully I'm long dead before we reach that point :v:[/QUOTE] Nah it's actually the opposite. Programming and inventing new technologies can't be performed by a robot. Reality TV is brain dead.

[QUOTE=cartman300;51627423]Nah it's actually the opposite. Programming and inventing new technologies can't be performed by a robot. Reality TV is brain dead.[/QUOTE] We're predicted to have a full AI by 2080, wouldn't such a thing have the ability to invent new things if it were truly an AI?

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;51627397]We're going to reach the point where the only job left a robot can't perform is reality television star. Have fun future humanity, hopefully I'm long dead before we reach that point :v: [/QUOTE] If all the work is done by robots, there's nothing left for people to do but enjoy life.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;51627397]We're going to reach the point where the only job left a robot can't perform is reality television star. Have fun future humanity, hopefully I'm long dead before we reach that point :v: [editline]5th January 2017[/editline] I foresee a neo-Luddite movement in the future.[/QUOTE] I honestly wouldn't call it a Doomsday, if robots control all important jobs for maintaining a society's structure there should be a basic income for the population. The jobs that probably wouldn't be afflicted would be scientists and entertainment, and probably mechanics to maintain the robots which would last until they can maintain themselves, or maybe we'll keep that job just in case so they can't overthrow us.

[QUOTE=Chickens!;51627427]If all the work is done by robots, there's nothing left for people to do but enjoy life.[/QUOTE] Enjoy life inbetween bouts of putting down the robot resistance.

[QUOTE=Chickens!;51627427]If all the work is done by robots, there's nothing left for people to do but enjoy life.[/QUOTE] or die in poverty because government refuses to make the tough decisions to advance society past an old-style capitalist society.

[QUOTE=Chickens!;51627427]If all the work is done by robots, there's nothing left for people to do but enjoy life.[/QUOTE] There's still those that build and maintain the robots. Unless the robots are the ones building more robots, at which point I'd be a bit worried.

[QUOTE=Chickens!;51627427]If all the work is done by robots, there's nothing left for people to do but enjoy life.[/QUOTE] Problem is that not all will be content with that. Some people need work to keep them from fucking shit up, and there's a lot of them, trust me.

What if humanity dies out via disease, but the whole world is automated by AI and continues to operate for millions of years (granted we find a renewable energy source). I wonder if other animal species would eventually evolve enough to start taking advantage of our AI tech, even if they don't know how it works or what it is. Apes getting in self driving cars for example

[QUOTE=Orkel;51627441]There's still those that build and maintain the robots. Unless the robots are the ones building more robots, at which point I'd be a bit worried.[/QUOTE] Robots already build robots. Been this way for quite some time.

[QUOTE=Shadow801;51627444]What if humanity dies out via disease, but the whole world is automated by AI and continues to operate for millions of years (granted we find a renewable energy source). I wonder if other animal species would eventually evolve enough to start taking advantage of our AI tech, even if they don't know how it works or what it is. Apes getting in self driving cars for example[/QUOTE] This would actually be really neat, almost like those movies where people make use of alien tech they found but don't really understand. Sounds like a pretty cool legacy.

[QUOTE=Orkel;51627441]There's still those that build and maintain the robots. Unless the robots are the ones building more robots, at which point I'd be a bit worried.[/QUOTE] we already have automated assembly lines [editline]5th January 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=1239the;51627438]or die in poverty because government refuses to make the tough decisions to advance society past an old-style capitalist society.[/QUOTE] This is a 99% certain outcome. [editline]5th January 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Zergeant;51627431]I honestly wouldn't call it a Doomsday, if robots control all important jobs for maintaining a society's structure there should be a basic income for the population. [/quote] Why have an income at all then - who are you going to pay for services or stuff, the robots? They don't need cash or an income. [QUOTE=Zergeant;51627431]The jobs that probably wouldn't be afflicted would be scientists and entertainment,[/quote] I can see scientists heavily relying on robots but maybe not entirely. Entertainment for sure will always be human. [QUOTE=Zergeant;51627431] and probably mechanics to maintain the robots which would last until they can maintain themselves, or maybe we'll keep that job just in case so they can't overthrow us.[/QUOTE] Already have automated assembly lines like I said before. And no company is going to settle for human mechanics when they can have cheaper robot ones.

-snip-

[QUOTE=Drury;51627447]Robots already build robots. Been this way for quite some time.[/QUOTE] i can't see robots being able to design and program other robots before i retire though, so i'm relatively safe it'll suck for the the next generations of americans, but maybe most muh bootstrap conservatives would have died by then

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;51627481]I can see scientists heavily relying on robots but maybe not entirely. Entertainment for sure will always be human.[/QUOTE] AI-composed music is already old news, what we're seeing on social networks these days is AI-suggested entertainment made by humans, tailored for your preferences. It's a primitive weighted system, but it's also the first step in AI understanding entertainment, after that nothing will stop it from creating it and exponentially getting better at it.

Look on the brightside: those former employees now finally have time to spend with their families or make families.

[QUOTE=Dr.C;51627567]Look on the brightside: those former employees now finally have time to spend with their families or make families.[/QUOTE] And constantly be ostracized by family and others because they don't have a job and any money.

[QUOTE=Orkel;51627441]There's still those that build and maintain the robots. Unless the robots are the ones building more robots, at which point I'd be a bit worried.[/QUOTE] I imagine by then our intelligence would have greatly increased via artificial means. More than likely we would bond AIs to our brain rather than just create an individual General AI.

[QUOTE=Fourm Shark;51627546]Imagine a world where robots do all the work and humans just sit back and relax and work on vocational things[/QUOTE] So WALL-E?

[QUOTE=Fourm Shark;51627546]Imagine a world where robots do all the work and humans just sit back and relax and work on vocational things[/QUOTE] We might be able to make headway on intellect and philosophy, but many people would likely become lazy and unmotivated. It's possible the sheer boredom would allow us to create new amazing types of technology and art.

[QUOTE=aznz888;51627698]We might be able to make headway on intellect and philosophy, but many people would likely become lazy and unmotivated. It's possible the sheer boredom would allow us to create new amazing types of technology and art.[/QUOTE] like /r/meirl

You also after wonder after how many generations of complete AI economy will people stop going to higher education, or even high school. Drug abuse will probably be out of control given that it doesn't actually matter in the big picture.

I see a world where no one has jobs except the 1% who own all the money and high end tech. Then comes the peasant uprising but by this point the elite already have AI security bots.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;51627397]I foresee a neo-Luddite movement in the future.[/QUOTE] Absolutely agree. I don't agree with the proposition of destroying the machines part, but setting up a UBI should be [U]a lot[/U] higher in our collective polity's priority list.

somehow I can't help but feel this won't improve service at all, though if your healthcare system isn't 100% dependant on out of pocket insurance then I guess its not so bad if it fucks things up now and then