NEWS | The Big Stories
BESToftheREST
What the top columnists are
saying about Brexit Britain
MAY THE MANAGER
IBM Watson replaces
34 staff at Japanese
insurance firm
H
ardly a day goes by without
some story or another about
robots taking over the world.
When they were doing the dirty or
dangerous work – digging for coal,
checking on high-altitude electrical
connections – the robots were
welcomed by most. Now, though, they
are taking on jobs which are neither
dirty nor dangerous and which, it can
be argued, are an increasing threat to
how our world works today.
One recent example comes
out of Japan where an insurance
company is replacing 34 of its staff
with an artificial intelligence system.
The computer – at Fukoku Mutual
Life Insurance – will calculate how
much policyholders should be paid
out. Until now, it was a job done by
people but will soon be done by a
computer based on IBM’s Watson
Explorer, a technology which learns
to think and act like a human.
According to reports in Japanese
newspapers, the computer will
be able to understand medical
certificates and the length of
hospital stays. It will also be able
to understand a patient’s medical
history and surgical procedures and
then work out how much people
should be paid.
The company reckons this switch
will help them save about £1 million
a year. The system itself will cost
£1.4 million with annual £100,000
maintenance costs.
dofonline.co.uk
It is true that Japan, unlike many
countries, has to deal with a shrinking
and ageing population but that won’t
stop other companies adopting
the technology if, as Fukoku Mutual
expects, the investment in robots
starts to pay off in two years.
But the march of AI in Japan has
not been without its problems.
At the end of 2016 attempts to
develop a robot able to pass the
entrance exam for Tokyo University
were abandoned. “AI is not good
at answering the type of questions
that require an ability to grasp
meanings across a broad spectrum,”
said Professor Noriko Arai from the
National Institute of Informatics.
It is not only the financial service
sector that will be altered by AI.
According to Deloitte, all sectors
of the UK economy will be affected
by automation in the next 20 years,
with 74% of jobs in transportation
and storage, 59% of jobs in
wholesale and retail, and 56% of
jobs in manufacturing facing a high
chance of being automated.
The research concluded that
around 16% of the UK’s public
sector jobs could be automated
by 2030. Q
How artificial intelligence is set
to transform the accounting
industry. See pages 42-43
Theresa May displays strong management
skills. Since taking office, she has clearly
focused on processes and procedures to
execute the short-term project with which she
was entrusted: Brexit. She appears to be a great
pragmatic and meticulous doer and planner.
But you never hear her described as a visionary,
as empathetic or inspiring. She has been
criticised for her inability to craft a long-term
vision for the country after Brexit. This is deeply
troubling. She is leading the country through
what has been described as one of the biggest
changes since World War II but she lacks many
of the skills of a transformational leader…
Brexit is a complex task and to succeed it needs
a complex leader. Thankfully these skills can be
learned; hopefully May will learn them.
Zahira Jaser, The Conversation
A GREAT OPPORTUNITY
The UK government needs to recognise that many
other European financial centres see Brexit as a
great opportunity. The UK should acknowledge
that the City has no special right to dominate
European financial services business, and
recognise that Europe has a legitimate interest in
ensuring that the major financial services centre
for Europe (and the euro) is not “offshore”, as
London will shortly become. The UK has chosen
to leave the EU, and should be open about the
fact that doing so will have consequences.
Rob Moulton, City AM
BRITAIN REBORN
British democracy is reborn and the yoke
of Brussels will soon be gone. Reaching this
stage has been beset by pitfalls, entrenched
opposition and dirty tricks to keep the United
Kingdom in the European Union, but at last the
festal day arrives and it is worth considering
how we came to be here.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, The Telegraph
BIRTH PANGS
If Britain suffers financial trauma in the coming
years, Brexiteers will claim it is the birth pangs
of a wondrous new era, to be suffered stoically.
If the freedom dividend still doesn’t arrive, it
will be because severance is incomplete. The
prime minister will be accused of obstructing
prosperity by compromising too much with
Brussels; foreigners will be charged with
sabotage. The problem will always be too little
Brexit, never too much.
Rafael Behr, The Guardian
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
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