- Australian CommBank announced 45 workers would be replaced with AI
- However the decision has now been reversed after the AI failed to live up to humans
- Workers have received an apology from CommBank
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank has provided a useful example of how not to introduce AI tools after being forced into an embarassing clim-down.
The bank had recently announced 45 customer service workers would be cut and replaced with an AI-powered ‘voice bot’ in an effort to reduce call volumes and automate less complex replies – leaving a small number of employees to handle the remaining more complex enquiries.
As it turns out, these bots were not capable of handling the tasks that the workers could – and now, those cut employees will now be rehired.
The ‘backflip’
The bank claimed the ‘voice-bot’ led to a reduction in calls, but Australia’s Finance Sector Union disputes this claim, noting, “Members told us this was an outright lie and did not reflect the reality of what was happening in Direct Banking. Call volumes were in fact increasing and CBA was scrambling to manage the situation by offering staff overtime and directing Team Leaders to answer calls.”
The bank issued an apology to the staff who were affected by the proposed job cuts and reversed the decision. A spokesperson from the bank told TechRadar Pro that it’s initial assessment ‘did not adequately consider all relevant business considerations and this error meant the roles were not redundant.’
“We have apologised to the employees concerned and acknowledge we should have been more thorough in our assessment of the roles required. We are currently supporting affected employees and have provided them with choice regarding continuing in their current roles, pursuing redeployment within CBA or to proceed with leaving the organisation.”
That being said, CommBank is not denouncing the tech entirely, having recently announced a partnership with OpenAI to develop scam and fraud detection solutions, as well as ‘deliver more personalized services’ for its customers.
For months, concerns about job losses at the hands of AI were dismissed, with companies assuring that only the most basic and mundane admin tasks would be handled by bots, leaving workers to focus on the more creative aspects of their roles.
Those in administrative positions who handle almost exclusively mundane tasks have warned that these models, although sometimes useful, cannot replace human experience and understanding.
It’s undeniable that AI is replacing workers, with hundreds of jobs at firms like IBM and Crowdstrike disappearing as humans have been made more dispensable thanks to the tech.
But, not all of these cost-cutting decisions are working out. In the UK, over half of all businesses who replaced workers with AI already regret their decision, and are not less likely to believe that AI will replace human workers.