I think the gap between AI R&D being 99% automatable and being actually automated will be approximately one day
That’s wildly optimistic. There aren’t any businesses that can change anywhere near that fast.
Even if they genuinely wanted to, the laws 99% of business are governed by mean that they genuinely can’t do that. The absolute minimum time for such radical change under most jurisdictions is roughly six months.
Looking at the history of step changes in industry/business such as the industrial and information revolutions, I think the minimum plausible time between “can be automated with reasonable accuracy” and “is actually automated” is roughly a decade (give or take five years), because the humans who would be ‘replaced’ will not go gently.
That is far faster than either of the previous revolutions though, and a lot faster than the vast majority of people are capable of adapting. Which would lead to Interesting Times...
I think there is a significant societal difference, because that last step is a lot bigger than the ones before.
In general, businesses tend to try to reduce headcount as people retire or leave, even if it means some workers have very little to do. Redundancies are expensive and take a long time—the larger they are, the longer it takes.
Businesses are also primarily staffed and run by humans who do not wish to lose their own jobs.
For a real-world example of a task that is already >99% automatable, consider real estate conveyancing.
The actual transaction is already entirely automated via simple algorithms—the database of land ownership is updated indicating the new owner, and the figures representing monetary wealth are updated in two or more bank accounts.
The work prior to that consists of identity confirmation, and document comprehension to find and raise possible issues that the buyer and seller need to be informed about.
All of this is already reasonably practicable with existing LLMs and image matching.
Have any conveyancing solicitors replaced all of their staff thusly?
That’s wildly optimistic. There aren’t any businesses that can change anywhere near that fast.
Even if they genuinely wanted to, the laws 99% of business are governed by mean that they genuinely can’t do that. The absolute minimum time for such radical change under most jurisdictions is roughly six months.
Looking at the history of step changes in industry/business such as the industrial and information revolutions, I think the minimum plausible time between “can be automated with reasonable accuracy” and “is actually automated” is roughly a decade (give or take five years), because the humans who would be ‘replaced’ will not go gently.
That is far faster than either of the previous revolutions though, and a lot faster than the vast majority of people are capable of adapting. Which would lead to Interesting Times...
The idea is R&D will already be partially automated before hitting the 99% mark, so 99% marks the end of a gradual shift towards automation.
I think there is a significant societal difference, because that last step is a lot bigger than the ones before.
In general, businesses tend to try to reduce headcount as people retire or leave, even if it means some workers have very little to do. Redundancies are expensive and take a long time—the larger they are, the longer it takes.
Businesses are also primarily staffed and run by humans who do not wish to lose their own jobs.
For a real-world example of a task that is already >99% automatable, consider real estate conveyancing.
The actual transaction is already entirely automated via simple algorithms—the database of land ownership is updated indicating the new owner, and the figures representing monetary wealth are updated in two or more bank accounts.
The work prior to that consists of identity confirmation, and document comprehension to find and raise possible issues that the buyer and seller need to be informed about.
All of this is already reasonably practicable with existing LLMs and image matching.
Have any conveyancing solicitors replaced all of their staff thusly?
Keep in mind Daniel said AI R&D