While grand, work-changing projects of AI, like self-driving cars and humanoid robots, are not yet commercial products, a more humble version of the technology is making its presence felt in a less glamorous place: the back office.

New software is automating mundane office tasks in operations like accounting, billing, payments and customer service, writes Steve Lohr at bizjournals.com.

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The technology is still in its infancy, but it will get better, learning as it goes. So far, often in pilot projects focused on menial tasks, artificial intelligence is freeing workers from drudgery far more often than it is eliminating jobs.

The bots are mainly observing, following simple rules and making yes-or-no decisions, not making higher-level choices that require judgment and experience. “This is the least intelligent form of AI,” said Thomas Davenport, a professor of information technology and management at Babson College

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