Expansion of AI investment and human occupation
AI investment in the US has reportedly reached $1 trillion. Just looking at the size of the funds, it seems that the speed at which human jobs are transferred to machines is increasing as well. But Apple has shelved plans to replace 5,000 AppleCare advisors with AI. AI is also making inroads in medical care, nursing care, classrooms, and farmland, but there is no rush to decide on its replacement. The amount of investment indicates how much the technology has become available, but it does not indicate what people will continue to do around the technology. The key to reading this half-day article is not the size of the amount, but rather what remains as human work in the workplace after AI is introduced, and what continues to be judged by humans.
U.S. AI investment has reached $1 trillion, according to The Hill. Just looking at the inflow of funds, it seems that the movement to replace human labor with machines is rapidly progressing. However, judgments on the ground do not follow that simple reading. According to Forkast News, Apple has shelved plans to replace 5,000 AppleCare advisors with AI. It's one thing to have a huge amount of money in play, but it's another to make a decision to reduce staff.
The same trend can be seen on the outsourcing base side. BusinessLine reports that when introducing AI, GCCs (Global Capability Centers) located in India and other countries have begun to focus on improving productivity rather than reducing headcount. The article also points out that office demand will depend on how flexible the office is. In other words, the introduction of AI does not necessarily directly lead to an increase or decrease in the number of employees, and the size of the workforce is treated as a variable that is adjusted according to changes in demand. The way we predict employment contraction based on the amount of investment needs to be reconsidered.
In individual implementation cases, AI is being incorporated as a tool to supervise and assist humans, rather than to replace them. According to Morningstar, IgniteUps.ai has announced NEXUS, a management tool for car dealerships that oversees AI human resources. Even though the object of management is AI, the design is such that the role of bundling and operating it remains with humans. In finance, Bank of America has expanded its treasury functions using AI and issued new corporate bonds, according to Yahoo Finance. It is notable that the decision to raise funds and strengthen functions is being talked about as an expansion of existing operations rather than a replacement of personnel.
