Microsoft Replaces Dozens of Employees With Artificial Intelligence

BBC reports, dozens of Microsoft employees (outsourced through a media firm) were informed their services were no longer needed. They are being replaced with artificial intelligence and software that can now complete their jobs. Microsoft is the owner and operator of MSN, a web portal and search engine launched in the 1990s. Microsoft is also the owner and operator of Edge, a web browser launch in 2015. The employees that were laid off are a staff of journalists who maintained the home pages of Microsoft Edge and Microsoft MSN. Specifically, the journalists were employed to “select, edit and curate news articles on its homepages.”  The AI software will now automatically populate the home pages with new content. Microsoft released a statement conveying that the company is constantly evaluating its efforts and determining areas in which to increase or decrease efforts.

This is being widely considered as a revolutionary move. Technology experts believe that robotics and artificial intelligence software are best used in connection with the human labor force. According to a report by CBS News, robots excel at clear, repetitive tasks that humans may find mundane or boring. Robots excel at jobs that require less human interaction such as data entry and administrative work. Hence, in the case of Microsoft, the staffers noted that while the AI software can complete their job, the software may not be able to appropriately screen content that may be offensive or inappropriate.  This part of the job tends to be more subjective and less objective.

AI is being introduced into a widespread of industry sectors. The Food industry is ideal for AI as many of the tasks are repetitive and can be more easily automated. Caliburger is a Californian restaurant chain, currently testing out a robot named “Flippy.” As implied by its name, Flippy, which costs $100,000, can flip 2,000 burgers a day. Additionally, the healthcare industry is exploring whether artificial intelligence can reduce waste by conducting vital tasks such as note taking and delivering information to patients. The waste in the healthcare industry is valuated at over $935 billion per year. In the customer service industry, “chat bots” is artificial intelligence software implemented to respond to customer inquiries, schedule meetings, and more. As the production and distribution of robotics and artificial intelligence increases, critics are still fearful that this will further decrease jobs for humans.

Discussion Questions:

1. Based on these articles, what is your prediction of the impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market? Is the proposed increase in productivity and decrease in reduction, worth the possible loss of “human” jobs?
2. Define structural unemployment. Explain how the automation of jobs may impact and/or cause structural unemployment.

Sources: BBC “Microsoft ‘to replace journalists with robots'”; CBS News “Robots: Now coming to a workplace near you” by Megan Cerullo.