Apply AI with ROI

There is currently a lot being talked about AI (Artificial Intelligence). It's being portrayed as having the ability to automate almost all use cases involving human intelligence. Cognitive i.e. being able to apply learning to real life unpredictable situations is being touted as the underlying foundation of this path. And the driverless Google car or the Sophie the Robot which received a Saudi citizenship are the best examples.

While all this may be true and rosy, the basics of Why and at what Cost should not be lost upon.
There are a plethora of instances where the services of a human at the other end will cost lesser than employing an automated solution, or worse, a robot.

I'll use the scenario of av automated solution or a robot to replace say bank customer service.
I'll first tackle Cost: Typically metrics are shared about ROI in terms of cost of human services multiplied by a number of years by which time the cost of building, teaching and deploying the robot would prove worthwhile. What's conveniently forgotten in these metrics is the cost of maintenance. Continuous teaching, fixing bugs, upgrading to latest Security threats and processing requirements. These could all drive up costs proportionality. Investment one could rather have made in building new businesses.
The other is Why: If you got fooled by the above ROI calculations, you are not an astute businessman anyways. But if you are looking at replacing specific areas of customer service then it might as well be smart! The reason for automation should be to provide better customer service in the first place, than to reduce cost. There should be no wait times for any customer who calls. If there are things than automation can immediately service, then give that route. Else if customer needs to speak to a human, give them that option in the main menu itself.

This is not to say that there are very valid scenarios like driverless cars where AI makes total sense.
But I can foresee a day when businesses will market that customers will speak to real humans for service calls, as a selling point for whatever product or service they are trying to sell.

This will really turn the tables on AI!