Could debt collectors be dinosaurs, about to driven to extinction by computers?
That argument can be made by one expert in artificial intelligence, based on a clip of an interview that will air this Sunday on “60 Minutes.” The expert, Kai Fu Lee, predicts that 40% of the world’s jobs will be replaced by artificial intelligence machines in the next 15 years. Lee said the jobs most likely to be replaced are those where the work is “repetitive,” and even technical jobs like chefs and waiters, will likely be replaced as well.
Lee is helping finance the use of artificial intelligence in remote classroom in China, and the report notes that 70% of China’s 1.4 billion people are using smartphones for routine transactions, including bill paying.
There are a number of technology-focused companies that are attempting to disrupt or already disrupting the credit and collection industry, most notably TrueAccord, which used machine learning and artificial intelligence to customize specific collection efforts for each individual, based on how those individuals interact — or don’t interact — with the company’s website, emails, and other communication channels.
“I believe [AI] is going to change the world more than anything in the history of mankind. More than electricity,” Lee said in the clip. “The invention of the steam engine, the sewing machine, electricity, have all displaced jobs. We’ve gotten over it. The challenge of AI is this 40%, whether it is 15 or 25 years, is coming faster than the previous revolutions.”
