Bank of America received attention last month for announcing the rollout of fully automated bank branches. Three pilot locations will open this year, each about one-quarter the size of a traditional branch but with no one home. Think of a row of ATMs plus a couple of cubicles at which you can chat with a person via webcam.
This is the next logical progression in an inexorable trend: removing human interaction wherever possible. And it’s picking up speed. The most critical challenge for policymakers may not be Obamacare or tax reform, but how to retrain a workforce that is rapidly growing obsolete.
Christopher Hopkins
The bank has already shuttered 22 percent of its locations since 2010, driven by the need to cut costs and reduce errors.
“We are literally automating every single thing,” said Dean Athanasia, co-head of consumer banking. That means fewer jobs in the back office as well as the branches, thanks to advancing technology.
Of course, Bank of America is hardly alone. Most of us have suffered the indignity of having a kiosk shoved across the table at the end of a meal in what used to be a full-service restaurant. McDonald’s is testing self-order screens and semi-automated kitchens. In some locations your order at the drive-thru is routed through a call center halfway across the country. And Wendy’s recently announced they would put touch pad ordering stations in 1,000 locations during 2017. Self-checkout is now a standard feature at the supermarket, the home improvement store, even the pharmacy. These systems reduce cost and mistakes but also collect and analyze important personal information about your preferences that very well could determine what ads you see on Facebook tomorrow.