Lloyds Bank to axe hundreds of jobs / and now RBS

glenimp617 · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:07

I'm never one for posting news articles, but this paragraph caught my attention. Especially since I made a similar comment in another thread this week regarding the announced facebook AI bot

http://news.sky.com/story/1682564/lloyds-to-axe-hundreds-of-jobs-in-latest-cull

"Antonio Horta-Osorio, Lloyds' chief executive, said 18 months ago that the rise in digital consumption of banking services was a key driver of changing headcount needs."

another instance of technology doing people out of jobs. I do wonder how this will all play out over the next 10-20 years. In the future, if AI can do a good enough job, surely that means thousands of people being made redundant.

Freakbro · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:08

More leisure time! Sounds good to me

(That's what they always used to say technology and increased automation would bring)

I wouldn't worry about it (I think) we've had automation putting people out of work since the 1700's and we're not all unemployed yet.

glenimp617 · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:10

Just to add, our local Natwest branch has just undergone a major refit. They have done away with the entire cashier desk and replaced it with new cashpoint terminal computers. There's a couple of staff on hand for technical queries, but you can do pretty much everything on them now.

Housey · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:13

glen8 said:
I'm never one for posting news articles, but this paragraph caught my attention. Especially since I made a similar comment in another thread this week regarding the announced facebook AI bot

http://news.sky.com/story/1682564/lloyds-to-axe-hundreds-of-jobs-in-latest-cull

"Antonio Horta-Osorio, Lloyds' chief executive, said 18 months ago that the rise in digital consumption of banking services was a key driver of changing headcount needs."

another instance of technology doing people out of jobs. I do wonder how this will all play out over the next 10-20 years. In the future, if AI can do a good enough job, surely that means thousands of people being made redundant.

Not really, what about the technology providers whose growth is predicated on the move to digital?

glenimp617 · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:15

Housey said:
Not really, what about the technology providers whose growth is predicated on the move to digital?

I'm not sure that will cover all of the job loses, and I think that's where the problems lies. Technology moves at a rapid pace, becomes faster, cheaper, easier to manage and implement, more reliable. In the short term yes, long term?

Casdawer · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:16

At some point in the future, most jobs will have been automated by AI / Robots, it's inevitable.

What we need to do is shift the way we perceive life as it won't revolve around 'work'.

Obviously this does come with issues around what to do with the mass population and how they would earn a living.

I do hope for a Utopian future where no work really 'works' and we are all working together to expand human knowledge and understanding. Then again, the chance of that happening is the same chance that it's all going to turn out like Star Trek.

glenimp617 · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:17

Casdawer said:
At some point in the future, most jobs will have been automated by AI / Robots, it's inevitable.

What we need to do is shift the way we perceive life as it won't revolve around 'work'.

Obviously this does come with issues around what to do with the mass population and how they would earn a living.

I do hope for a Utopian future where no work really 'works' and we are all working together to expand human knowledge and understanding. Then again, the chance of that happening is the same chance that it's all going to turn out like Star Trek.

That will never happen, I just can't see it

antijoke · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:20

Casdawer said:
At some point in the future, most jobs will have been automated by AI / Robots, it's inevitable.

Most jobs?

Lol, no.

scorza · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:21

Out of interest, we've had automated car washes for decades now yet I prefer to take my car to a hand wash place, and judging by the queues so do a lot of other people. I've never seen a queue at an automated wash. How many other people prefer hand washes to machine wash?

Freakbro · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:22

Mainly because they don't damage the paintwork like an automated one does

Cosimo · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:24

My Barclays branch (a main branch) has done away with foreign desk and all the cashiers have been replaced by super terminals. There are to desks for help/business. Still have queues as the super terminals confuse people or fail to accept cheques.

A small branch in the area has been closed down but another busy small one has continued with two cashiers.

The question one has to ask is whether the thousands that who have lost there jobs will ever get another. I guess we'll never see any statistics on that.

Casdawer · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:24

anticonscience said:
Most jobs?

Lol, no.

What jobs do you consider safe from AI?

antijoke · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:26

Casdawer said:
What jobs do you consider safe from AI?

Most jobs.

Freakbro · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:26

Definitely not mine - Accountancy *shrug* I'd just have to do something else

scorza · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:27

Casdawer said:
What jobs do you consider safe from AI?

All driving jobs that's for sure - there's no way Google's driverless car will ever hit the streets of this country. I confidently predict this.

Cosimo · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:27

scorza said:
Out of interest, we've had automated car washes for decades now yet I prefer to take my car to a hand wash place, and judging by the queues so do a lot of other people. I've never seen a queue at an automated wash. How many other people prefer hand washes to machine wash?

Always used hand washes. The one I now use is run by Eastern Europeans and they do an excellent job. Very good value as well. Long may they continue.

Avenged7Fold · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:28

Casdawer said:
What jobs do you consider safe from AI?

What do you consider AI?

How cheap, repairable and durable can these automated/ai units be to fill in most jobs?

I think irobot has made you paranoid. We will have more jobs replaced by bots but definitely not most jobs, it simply would not be economically feasible even after it becomes technologically viable to make these units that can do the work people do around offices and such.

antijoke · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:31

Cosimo said:
Always used hand washes. The one I now use is run by Eastern Europeans and they do an excellent job. Very good value as well. Long may they continue.

Those Eastern Europeans sure do know how to do a good hand job.

glenimp617 · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:34

When I say long term, I'm talking 100 years

Driverless cars - Yes
That's taxi and bus drivers gone

Telephone support staff - Yes
Hundreds of Indians made redundant due to AI bots

We have self service checkouts already, and I said earlier about my local natwest removing the huge cashier desk. In the next 100 years, a lot of those jobs will be gone

Doctors receptionists.....please god make this happen lol

Holographic teachers?

What would be nice would be self cleaning/repairing paint technology......that's your painters and decorators gone

Casdawer · 21 Apr 2016 at 09:40

scorza said:
All driving jobs that's for sure - there's no way Google's driverless car will ever hit the streets of this country. I confidently predict this.

I hope for our sake that you're wrong. Driverless cars would make the world a little bit more safe.

Avenged7Fold said:
What do you consider AI?

How cheap, repairable and durable can these automated/ai units be to fill in most jobs?

I think irobot has made you paranoid. We will have more jobs replaced by bots but definitely not most jobs, it simply would not be economically feasible even after it becomes technologically viable to make these units that can do the work people do around offices and such.

iRobot was a great film!

There will be a number of jobs looking after the units but it's not going to be that many. We've already got self repairing software and I'm sure self repairing hardware will be created at some stage.

I look at the future in a different way as yours as you seem to focus on the economic impact of this rather than seeing it as a way to free us from the shackles of working life.