RT...New recruit "Pepper" the robot, a humanoid robot designed to welcome and take care of visitors and patients, Ostend, Belgium, 2016 © Francois Lenoir / Reuters Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) will replace humans in 50 percent of all jobs in just ten years, says Kai-Fu Lee, founder of venture capital firm Sinovation Ventures and a reputable Chinese technologist.
Commerce Bot, a robot that provides customer service with artificial intelligence technology and voice recognition is seen at SK telecom's stand at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, 2017© Paul Hanna / Reuters
AI is the “singular thing that will be larger than all of human tech revolutions added together, including electricity, the industrial revolution, the internet, mobile internet - because AI is pervasive,” the technologist said at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing as quoted by CNBC. A robotic arm the booth of German company Kuka at the industrial fair, "Hannover Fair", in Hanover 2017 © Fabian Bimmer / Reuters
According to Lee, AI represents the decision engine that would replace people. The tech expert stressed that its capabilities far exceed those of humanity.
The corporations, which Sinovation Ventures has invested in, can accomplish feats such as recognizing three million faces simultaneously or dispersing loans in eight seconds. A humanoid robot named "I-Fairy" acts as a witness at the wedding ceremony in Tokyo, 2010. © Yuriko Nakao / Reuters
“These are things that are superhuman, and we think this will be in every industry, will probably replace 50 percent of human jobs, create an huge amount of wealth for mankind and wipe out poverty,” Lee said.
The technologist does not see machines taking the place of humans in the world as they grow more intelligent. A robot in the Robotic Kitchen prototype created by Moley Roboticsat the company's booth at the industrial technology fair, the Hannover Messe, Hanover, 2015 © Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters
“Touching one's heart with your heart is something that machines, I believe, will never be good at,” he said.
Lee stressed that service jobs should be considered “first-class” employment.
According to the expert, traditional institutions like banks, insurance firms, and hospitals are moving too slow, while all of this change is happening. A robot named "Robovie-II", developed by Japanese robotics research institution ATR, Kyoto, western Japan, 2010© Yuriko Nakao / Reuters
“Because AI is about taking data into insight and decision, so I anticipate the internet sector, entrepreneurial sector, to continue to grow and in many cases displace and even wipe out traditional companies in China,” said Lee.
Poster Comment:
Not to worry in US; Trump will build a wall.
In my local bank branch all the tellers are gone. Insert bank card, type password, select bill to be paid or insert cheque to be deposited, a few selects and it's done. No one making you wait in line while yappy customer converses with a teller.