Robots Thrive in the Forest on Jobs That Humans Find Too Boring

  • Swedish forest companies are using AI for tedious tasks
  • Technology promises to reduce costs, and improve profits
Automation Could Wipe Out Half of All Jobs, OECD Warns
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From watching pulp cook for hours on end and tracking parasite bugs on satellite photos to handling lengthy legal documents, Swedish forest companies are creating new jobs they would never ask a human to do.

Packaging maker BillerudKorsnas AB has been an early adopter of artificial intelligence by using the technology to analyze thousands of diagrams to determine just how long it needs to cook its wood chips before they turn into pulp. While that process could be done manually, it says it would be difficult to find any human who’d be willing to spend all day just looking at such charts.