Octopus Energy, a UK-based household energy supplier, has been using artificial intelligence (AI) for several months, and according to the CEO, Greg Jackson, AI is doing the work of 250 people at the company. The technology has been incorporated into company systems, and staff began letting it reply to some customer emails in February. Now, AI replies to more than a third of customer emails, which is the work of about 250 people. Emails written by AI delivered 80% customer satisfaction, comfortably better than the 65% achieved by skilled, trained people. The development is unlikely to lead to job losses at the company, but the pace of AI technology has the potential to cause “huge and rapid dislocation” to the job market. A report from Goldman Sachs found that generative AI tools like ChatGPT could lead to “significant disruption” in the labor market and affect around 300 million full-time jobs globally. The report highlighted white-collar workers, especially those working in legal services and administration, as some of the most likely to be affected by new AI tools. The report also said AI systems could boost global labor productivity and create new jobs.
