Artificial intelligence has begun its onslaught against the human job market by eliminating many on Wall Street already.
The AI Domino Effect: How Artificial Intelligence is Beginning to Erase Entire Job Sectors
Firms like Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, and others are reporting strong profits while reducing headcount and automating more work, according to a report by The New York Times [behind a paywall]. “All of them credited A.I. to some degree … in areas ranging from the so-called back office, where tens of thousands of employees fill out paperwork to comply with various laws and regulations, to the front office, where seven-figure salaried professionals put together complicated financial transactions for corporate clients,” reports the New York Times. From the report (as quoted by SlashDot):
Less than four months ago, Bank of America’s chief executive, Brian T. Moynihan, volunteered in a TV interview what he would say to his 210,000 employees about the chance of artificial intelligence replacing human work. “You don’t have to worry,” he said. “It’s not a threat to their jobs.” Last week, after Bank of America reported $8.6 billion in profit for the first quarter — $1.6 billion more than the same period a year earlier — Mr. Moynihan struck a different tone. The bank’s bottom line, he said, was helped by shedding 1,000 jobs through attrition by “eliminating work and applying technology,” which he repeatedly specified was artificial intelligence. He predicted more of that in the months and years to come. “A.I. gives us places to go we haven’t gone,” Mr. Moynihan said. –New York Times
It has often been stated that AI would “enhance” the workplace, not eliminate it. However, we are being shown otherwise at almost every opportunity. Previously, the public was told that artificial intelligence would only change human employment. But is it getting obvious that we were lied to again?
Walmart CEO: Artificial Intelligence Will Change Every Single Job
Scarcity and the Machine: Opportunity Cost in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Among the recent job cuts at Citi were scores of employees who were part of the bank’s “A.I. Champions and Accelerators” program, according to the two people, who were not permitted by the bank to speak publicly. The program involves Citi employees who perform their day jobs while also working to persuade their colleagues to adopt A.I. technologies.