When automation was introduced into call centers the impact was seen across multiple marketplaces. From automobile industry manufacturing lines to checkout counters at retailers, many people experienced job loss. Therefore, the concern that artificial intelligence (AI) will bring the same wave of unemployment is certainly understandable.
But that concern misses one key point: AI can’t do what humans can do, and odds are good it never will.
The RSDC Approach
We don’t use AI to replace human workers. We create solutions that free staff from tedious, mundane, repetitive tasks, freeing them up to drive the business forward as only humans can. AI has come a long way since its inception, and is making major stride in reshaping the way we do business, but it can never replace the capacities of the human brain. RSDC builds AI for humans, not to replace them.
How AI Works
The short, non-technical explanation for how AI works begins with the structure. What makes it different from technology to this point is the capacity for non-linear reasoning. Rather than follow a chain of logical steps, AI software branches rapidly through networks of data, similar to the way the human brain works. This allows the program to access and process large amounts of data and connect disparate parts to formulate a reasonable answer.
How AI Doesn’t Work
AI software can only work with the data given to it, and it can only use the data in ways it’s trained to. The process of training an AI system is lengthy and intensive, requiring specialists to label all data the system will need. Once that’s done, the software learns from the way users interact with it, but it can’t reach beyond that. As advanced and seamless as it performs with knowns, when broached with a question or situation in which it has not been trained, it will not be able to respond.
That’s Where Humans Come In
Imagine a bank. AI-enabled service stations process all of the basic tasks they currently do, and can even handle more complex duties, like taking loan applications and spotting customer spending patterns to recommend household budgeting solutions. But when a customer comes in upset, thinking their account has been hacked, they need to sit down with a human. Because the human associates at the bank aren’t bogged down with simple tasks, they are ready to address the customer immediately, use their compassion and understanding of human behavior to bring calm while checking the transaction history for fraudulent activity. They can observe the customer themselves to look for signs that the customer is the perpetrator of the fraud. AI can’t do that.
Our AI is written to support the philosophy that AI is best used not to replace humans, but to empower them to use their irreplaceable human-ness.
How can AI help the humans in your company? Contact us today to begin exploring your options!