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117 points LordAtlas | 9 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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pizlonator ◴[] No.46183778[source]
> AI inference demand is directed at improving actual earnings. Companies are deploying intelligence to reduce customer acquisition costs, lower operational expenses, and increase worker productivity. The return is measurable and often immediate, not hypothetical.

Is the return measurable and immediate?

Is it really?

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com2kid ◴[] No.46184178[source]
Yes.

Dentists offices that only need 1 receptionist instead of 2.

A dramatic reduction in front line tier 1 customer support reps.

Translation teams laid off.

Documentation teams dramatically reduced.

Data entry teams replaced by vision models.

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1. pizlonator ◴[] No.46184896[source]
That's a cool dream, but my question is: is it happening?

Out of the things you listed the only ones that seem plausible are translation team and data entry team, though even there, I'd want humans to deslop the output.

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2. jakeydus ◴[] No.46184933[source]
I think that is it happening is an important question, but “does the consumer actually want it to happen” should be equally important. It won’t be, because the c suite will just make the decision for us all, but it ought to be.
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3. com2kid ◴[] No.46185353[source]
I'm telling you of what I've either worked on or seen myself.

Just a couple days ago a scheduled a furnace repair through an AI receptionist on the phone.

Layoffs in tech support and customer service already happened last year.

Entry level sales jobs doing cold calling have been replaced all over the place.

replies(2): >>46185704 #>>46186270 #
4. com2kid ◴[] No.46185441[source]
If done properly you shouldn't be able to tell. A really good voice AI assistant is indistinguishable from front line support reading through a script, and potentially a few steps better.
5. willis936 ◴[] No.46185704[source]
AI didn't replace those jobs, it was just the excuse to stop offering the service.
6. carlosjobim ◴[] No.46185715[source]
You are not capable of telling the difference between human translated and AI translated communication.
replies(1): >>46187127 #
7. pizlonator ◴[] No.46186270[source]
Here's the thing I'm pushing back on:

> The return is measurable and often immediate, not hypothetical.

It's one thing to let go some people and replace them with AI.

It's quite another to have a measurable and often immediate, not hypothetical return on that decision.

8. DaSHacka ◴[] No.46187127[source]
Source?
replies(1): >>46189562 #
9. carlosjobim ◴[] No.46189562{3}[source]
Source: Reality. You are probably already communicating with people who you have no idea are using AI to translate their messages.

I have used AI translation professionally for a few years, and between hundreds of people in long conversations, nobody has ever asked if the text has been translated. Before AI translators, you could write at most one message and people would notice.