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We use some AI for the first level of customer support. It can provide standard answers to common questions and help with routine action requests, but it is bac

We use some AI for the first level of customer support. It can provide standard answers to common questions and help with routine action requests, but it is backed up by human operators for anything more complex and customers can opt out of the AI whenever they want. From customer surveys, they tend to like using the AI for simple things because it is faster and they get what they need. The like that they can get a human when they need too. If you aren't providing a human fallback, you aren't doing it right.

cogman10 3y ago
Bingo, and that's the part of AI that I think is overlooked. It might kill some jobs, but it'll never kill an entire sector like the web killed travel agencies. And the thing is, the more the risk the less likely an LLM is going to be trusted to just make a decision. For example, do you think an insurance agency would want an LLM to decide, on it's own, claim approvals? Can you imagine the headache for the insurance agency if the LLM approves the wrong claims or denies the wrong claims? Or for a doctors office, Imagine AI diagnostics without a human. Can you imagine the headache for a hospital when an AI misses cancer? Or diagnoses a false cancer? It's bad enough when humans get that wrong, but now you have to explain to your legal team "We just left up the practice to the stats gods!"
- notpachet 3y ago
  Can you imagine a lawyer using ChatGPT to draft legal briefs and find relevant case histories? Well...
- mattgreenrocks 3y ago
  > For example, do you think an insurance agency would want an LLM to decide, on it's own, claim approvals? Can you imagine the headache for the insurance agency if the LLM approves the wrong claims or denies the wrong claims? You say this, but I sometimes worry that these issues are hand-waved away by decision-makers with, "oh we'll just have another LLM doing frontline claim support to verify these issues." It's the whole XML/violence thing, where the solution to XML-induced pain often ends up being more XML.
  - spyke112 3y ago
    I’m not saying my insurer uses AI, but I recently had two dental claims processed entirely automatically by just providing invoices, and answering some questions online. This is in Denmark. Really nice experience.
    - mattgreenrocks 3y ago
      That sounds fantastic. In the US I usually have to sit on hold for 20m, then explain what I see vs what I expect, have them check with their supervisor, get word that they they agree with me and will pass it back to underwriting, wait a few more days for underwriting to look at it, and then wait to make sure it actually went through.
- milanhbs 3y ago
  In both of your examples I could see the model becoming the default, with humans double-checking, if even that. If things go wrong as you describe, humans are pulled into the loop by the humans wronged (unless they give up before). There is a company making money with auto insurance claims: https://tractable.ai/en/products https://tractable.ai/en/products
- ghaff 3y ago
  >Bingo, and that's the part of AI that I think is overlooked. It might kill some jobs, but it'll never kill an entire sector like the web killed travel agencies. To be slightly pedantic, the Web killed travel agencies for individuals who were mostly interested in booking flights, cruises, and big city hotels once making those bookings became easy on an individual level. Companies absolutely still use corporate travel sites, for reasons good and bad. And there are various types of specialist tour operators, arrangers of private trips, etc. who have on-the-ground knowledge of specific locations--and often won't even book things like air travel for you. (More broadly, the Web forced travel agents of various types to add value above and beyond what a travel portal or a random travel agent could do because they were gatekeepers to the needed systems.)
- falserum 3y ago
  Oh, how nice it would be to have AI give medical advice. (From time to time I have some trivial questions, but not enough hundred valued bills, to ask actual doctor) I agree with your point though, before starting on chemotherapy I would definitely shell out some money for opinion of a live doctor.
daveguy 3y ago
Say customers only fall back to a human for 10% of more difficult questions.Then one support agent can field as many customer service questions as 10 employees could before. 90% layoffs is great depression numbers. Maybe only one sector, but the sectors it does impact will be hit hard.
- bilsbie 3y ago
  Being a consumer myself, I’ve never had a non difficult question. I’m not calling to check my balance or get directions. I’m calling because your system did something wrong and needs to be overridden
  - threecheese 3y ago
    Same. Never once have I selected the “Check my balance” tele-option, though I’ve had to listen to it innumerable times.
    - eitland 3y ago
      It used to be quite handy back in the 90ies :-)

cogman10 3y ago

Bingo, and that's the part of AI that I think is overlooked. It might kill some jobs, but it'll never kill an entire sector like the web killed travel agencies. And the thing is, the more the risk the less likely an LLM is going to be trusted to just make a decision. For example, do you think an insurance agency would want an LLM to decide, on it's own, claim approvals? Can you imagine the headache for the insurance agency if the LLM approves the wrong claims or denies the wrong claims? Or for a doctors office, Imagine AI diagnostics without a human. Can you imagine the headache for a hospital when an AI misses cancer? Or diagnoses a false cancer? It's bad enough when humans get that wrong, but now you have to explain to your legal team "We just left up the practice to the stats gods!"

notpachet 3y ago
Can you imagine a lawyer using ChatGPT to draft legal briefs and find relevant case histories? Well...
mattgreenrocks 3y ago
> For example, do you think an insurance agency would want an LLM to decide, on it's own, claim approvals? Can you imagine the headache for the insurance agency if the LLM approves the wrong claims or denies the wrong claims? You say this, but I sometimes worry that these issues are hand-waved away by decision-makers with, "oh we'll just have another LLM doing frontline claim support to verify these issues." It's the whole XML/violence thing, where the solution to XML-induced pain often ends up being more XML.
- spyke112 3y ago
  I’m not saying my insurer uses AI, but I recently had two dental claims processed entirely automatically by just providing invoices, and answering some questions online. This is in Denmark. Really nice experience.
  - mattgreenrocks 3y ago
    That sounds fantastic. In the US I usually have to sit on hold for 20m, then explain what I see vs what I expect, have them check with their supervisor, get word that they they agree with me and will pass it back to underwriting, wait a few more days for underwriting to look at it, and then wait to make sure it actually went through.
milanhbs 3y ago
In both of your examples I could see the model becoming the default, with humans double-checking, if even that. If things go wrong as you describe, humans are pulled into the loop by the humans wronged (unless they give up before). There is a company making money with auto insurance claims: https://tractable.ai/en/products https://tractable.ai/en/products
ghaff 3y ago
>Bingo, and that's the part of AI that I think is overlooked. It might kill some jobs, but it'll never kill an entire sector like the web killed travel agencies. To be slightly pedantic, the Web killed travel agencies for individuals who were mostly interested in booking flights, cruises, and big city hotels once making those bookings became easy on an individual level. Companies absolutely still use corporate travel sites, for reasons good and bad. And there are various types of specialist tour operators, arrangers of private trips, etc. who have on-the-ground knowledge of specific locations--and often won't even book things like air travel for you. (More broadly, the Web forced travel agents of various types to add value above and beyond what a travel portal or a random travel agent could do because they were gatekeepers to the needed systems.)
falserum 3y ago
Oh, how nice it would be to have AI give medical advice. (From time to time I have some trivial questions, but not enough hundred valued bills, to ask actual doctor) I agree with your point though, before starting on chemotherapy I would definitely shell out some money for opinion of a live doctor.

daveguy 3y ago

Say customers only fall back to a human for 10% of more difficult questions.Then one support agent can field as many customer service questions as 10 employees could before. 90% layoffs is great depression numbers. Maybe only one sector, but the sectors it does impact will be hit hard.

bilsbie 3y ago
Being a consumer myself, I’ve never had a non difficult question. I’m not calling to check my balance or get directions. I’m calling because your system did something wrong and needs to be overridden
- threecheese 3y ago
  Same. Never once have I selected the “Check my balance” tele-option, though I’ve had to listen to it innumerable times.
  - eitland 3y ago
    It used to be quite handy back in the 90ies :-)