Artificial Intelligence And The Workplace: Can Robots Replace Skilled Employees?

Robots powered by artificial intelligence or AI are usually associated with low-skilled and mechanical work, such as those in heavy industry. Factories in different parts of the world have begun replacing human workers with robots.

A Japanese insurance firm, however, is doing more than that, in a move that if imitated by more companies can revolutionize the workplace while posing a threat to millions of jobs. Fukuoku Mutual Life Insurance plans to replace 34 white-collar employees with AI beginning this month.

The jobs for the AI system involve searching through policyholders' hospital records and other documents necessary for determining insurance payouts using the IBM Watson Explorer, Quartz reports. The remaining human employees will be tasked to process the final insurance payout after robots conduct the data-gathering process.

According to The Mainichi, a Japanese national daily, Fukuoku Mutual Life will earmark 200 million yen or about $1.7 million to install the AI system. Maintaining the system will cost 15 million yen or about $128,000 yearly, but the company is expected to be able to save 140 million yen or about $1.2 million dollars by firing 34 staff.

IBM describes the Watson Explorer as a technology that "can think like a human." It has been touted as a machine capable of analyzing and interpreting data such as images, text, video, and audio.

Quartz reports that IBM's AI system can understand customers' words and transcribe them into text, and is capable of processing the words as positive or negative. A number of companies in the US are already using the so-called sentiment analysis software for greater productivity.

Knowledge-based jobs that involve compliance with rules and procedures, including those in the financial industry, may increasingly be automated in the future. The Harvard Business Review wrote last year that more rules mean companies have to constantly monitor human employees' behavior, and give them the incentive to use automated software to ensure compliance.

While many are excited about the possibilities that AI brings to the workplace, particularly in terms of productivity, some are also concerned about the massive unemployment it would cause. Scientists have warned of mass unemployment as more and more companies employ intelligent machines instead of humans.

Does the rise of AI make you concerned about your job security? Let us know your thoughts.