“ We ’ ve all seen too many science fiction movies with robots taking over the universe . AI is neither good nor bad . It ’ s a tool .”
— John Acres , CEO , Acres Technology
With sufficient accurate data sets , AI can evaluate and predict customer behaviors with precision — for example , detecting a slot player ’ s mood in real time , and responding to shifting attitudes on a spin-by-spin basis .
“ Say someone isn ’ t having the best luck on a machine and is close to pulling their card ,” says Wolfe . “ We can predict that breakpoint with a high level of accuracy ,” and counter with a reward that may keep that person engaged . ( Problem gambling activists suggest that such technologies should also remind players to take a break as needed .)
Similarly , L & W ’ s Engage loyalty platform , working with a booking engine , uses guest frequency and projected revenue to ensure “ the right room at the right rate on the right day . It collects data from every single system we ’ re connected to : hotel , point of sale , ecommerce , iGaming , sports betting , so we know a tremendous amount about the player ,” and can also cross-sell across those verticals .
When it comes to security , AI also is a potentially valuable partner , he notes . “ There ’ s all kinds of nefarious activity going on at the casino , because there ’ s so much cash there . AI has a great shot at saying , ‘ This looks suspicious . I ’ m going to have a person look at it .’”
In this partnership , AI sounds the alarm , a human worker follows up , and hopefully the bad guy is thwarted . “ It ’ s like a 24 / 7 auditor looking at every single transaction ,” says Wolfe . “ We finally have a system that can collect all the data and report it within one second of the time of play . I ’ m not sure we ’ d get to the nuanced effort we need without that science .”
Wolfe says AI won ’ t change customer service , just the mode of delivery . “ It ’ s still about knowing your customer , but sourcing them in a different way .”
AI remains a tool for people , not the other way around , he adds . “ You still need a human driving the keyboard . This is not a self-driving car .” As for concerns about job losses : “ This is about increasing horsepower , not displacing talent .”
Fighting Back
Even so , research firm McKinsey & Co . estimates that 70 percent of hotel and food service workers could see more than half their work absorbed by automation and artificial intelligence , and 20 percent of marketing jobs could be lost to AI .
A separate study says the technology could displace 400 million workers worldwide ( while also creating almost 100 million new jobs ).
So last October , when 3,700 union casino workers in Detroit went on strike , they not only demanded better wages and better health care , but greater protections against technologies that affect their jobs .
Cocktail server Ambre Romero , then working for $ 13 an hour , told the New York Times that malfunctioning “ labor-saving devices ,” like automated cocktail dispensers , took her away from customers and caused her tips to drop by 30 percent .
In contract negotiations , employees of the Greektown and MGM casinos asked for at least six months ’ notice before new workplace technologies were introduced , better training to iron out the glitches , and severance packages for workers replaced by tech . ( New contracts , ratified in December , included an average 18 percent pay raise , bonuses — and yes , the technology protections workers asked for .)
Meanwhile , a quarter of U . S . companies are adopting AI because they can ’ t fill their vacancies . The U . S . Chamber of Commerce reports that “ fully in-person ” jobs with lower wage levels , like those in leisure and hospitality , have “ the highest quit rates of all industries ,” a trend that preceded Covid-19 , and grew during and after the pandemic .
Earle Hall , CEO of fintech company AXES . ai , says he would be “ appalled to walk into a casino and see robots all over the place .” Even so , he believes that AI can take over the drudge jobs people hate , allowing them to pursue more creative endeavors .
“ When you put human beings into repetitive tasks , you turn off the entire right side of their brain — their creativity , their inspiration , their passion ,” says Hall . “ Please don ’ t tell me humanity was created to do that .”
AI can step in , performing routine tasks 24 / 7 , optimally with more accuracy . In the marketing space , it can bank and analyze internal data and data from external sources , like social media platforms , then “ correlate things that we would not normally correlate ”— all without the bias
“ AI should be more regulated than nuclear energy .”
— Earle Hall , CEO , AXES . ai
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