Why Accenture Is Investing $3 Billion In AI

Worldwide know-how consulting group Accenture has actually been bitten arduous by the generative AI bug. In coming years, it plans to double its headcount of knowledge and AI specialists from 40,000 to 80,000 because it invests $3 billion into its capabilities.

All of that is in an effort to enhance its means to leverage AI in 3 ways: To do higher work for purchasers, to enhance its personal operations, and to remodel the way in which it really works for purchasers.

Not too long ago, I caught up as soon as once more with Accenture’s Paul Daugherty. 5 years after the publication of his e-book Human + Machine: Reimagining Work within the Age of AI, I took the prospect to ask him in regards to the developments we’ve seen since its publication. We additionally talked about how the arrival of generative instruments like ChatGPT will have an effect on the continued AI-driven transformation of enterprises.

Generative AI – the sport changer

“Over the course of my profession,” says Daugherty, “I’ve been actually amazed by know-how 4 instances.”

The primary was the Lisa – the early Apple pc that popularized the concept of a private pc with a graphical consumer interface. The second was searching the web for the primary time. The third was the arrival of the smartphone.

“The fourth was about 18 months in the past after I began to see the progress in …particularly massive language fashions (LLMs).

“The tempo of development was turning into breathtaking, and among the capabilities … to grasp language and the generative capabilities to create content material. Not simply diagnose and consider or predict …actually is game-changing when it comes to the influence on enterprise.”

Superb although it undoubtedly will be, Paul nonetheless sees companies struggling to work out how and the place to use it. Usually it isn’t that they’ve issues figuring out use circumstances – there are many them. Somewhat, hindrances are round understanding which of them are possible to assist them obtain enterprise objectives and the place funding must be prioritized.

That is backed up by current stats collated by Accenture that reveals that 98 % of executives imagine generative AI will probably be important to their technique going ahead.

“In order that reveals you the extent of curiosity and the influence that executives see this having on their enterprise,” says Daugherty.

How Accenture is Utilizing AI

Potential purposes match into one of many three classes talked about at the beginning of the article. Additional to that, they’re damaged down into 5 kinds of purposes: creating, automating, advising, defending and coding.

Accenture’s digital media enterprise, Track, is a flagship for its use of inventive, generative AI. Track is concerned with innovating in content material creation by understanding the plethora of recent instruments which can be obtainable. Consumer use circumstances it’s concerned with vary from advertising and outreach to drafting regulatory paperwork for all times sciences firms.

It has additionally assisted banking clients with automating back-office processes utilizing GPT-3.5 and carried out its advisory capabilities in buyer providers operations.

The “shield” implementations are showcased by a employee security resolution created for vitality firms. This includes pulling collectively real-time data on what is occurring in a facility in an effort to enhance security outcomes.

And coding refers to utilizing the super-human means of LLMs to generate pc code, which permits software program builders to change into extra environment friendly and productive.

Altogether, Daugherty tells me, Accenture is concerned with serving to over 100 of its purchasers implement generative AI initiatives.

Investing in Capabilities

Not the entire $3 billion in funding that Accenture has simply introduced it can make in its AI and information capabilities will go on generative AI.

“Generative AI is clearly game-changing for all the explanations I’ve talked about – however information and AI broadly have large alternatives for firms,” says Daugherty.

“It’s not even nearly AI – it’s about information and the way you pull collectively the info foundations, the trendy information platforms and the cloud-based platform to drive the chance.”

In addition to doubling the dimensions of the info and AI group, Accenture has developed a device known as AI Navigator, designed to assist its purchasers discover their method by way of the baffling and ever-expanding vary of enterprise AI alternatives open to them.

What fashions does a enterprise have to work with, and the way can they be used? Is it greatest to simply use an present API? Does information want fine-tuning or customizing? How can immediate engineering be used? “That is what the AI navigator for Enterprise will assist our purchasers with,” says Daugherty.

Accountable AI

We perceive that algorithmic bias can create societal inequalities and decision-making accomplished by opaque black field equipment, incomprehensible to most people, has the potential to trigger hurt.

Then there’s the potential for a breach of privateness associated to pc imaginative and prescient purposes comparable to facial recognition.

These points (and plenty of extra) have made us conscious of the significance of pursuing “accountable AI.”

Daugherty tells me that – so far as he’s conscious, at the very least – Accenture was the primary group to determine a proper compliance program round accountable AI.

“It’s much more vital with generative AI … we’re working with quite a lot of stakeholders, regulators and governments, in addition to our purchasers, to determine … accountable AI capabilities.”

This “accountable AI framework” ensures that questions will be requested and answered round issues of bias, equity, privateness and safety referring to any AI initiatives.

On prime of that could be a “diagnostic device” used to guage the danger stage of any AI-related work.

Daugherty says, “There are particular kinds of AI categorized as excessive threat, versus … totally different ranges of threat … and have you learnt, in your group, the place are you utilizing what is perhaps thought of high-risk AI?

“I might submit most organizations actually wouldn’t have an concept proper now.”

A part of the reply lies in having a strong and dependable stock of each software inside a company that includes AI. Which means every one will be individually threat assessed and monitored for outcomes as stakeholders construct their very own understanding of what needs to be accomplished to make sure AI is used responsibly.

The Future?

The place do Daugherty and Accenture see this all main? And what different applied sciences will they be placing to work alongside AI to speed up this wave of digital transformation?

Accenture’s 2023 know-how imaginative and prescient doc – titled When Atoms Meet Bits – highlights digital identification, belief and transparency, next-generation AI and what it refers to as “science know-how” as the largest tendencies to look at.

And whereas some imagine the idea has gone off the boil, Daugherty is completely satisfied to report that he believes “The metaverse is alive and nicely.”

“The concept of constructing the two-dimensional digital world three-dimensional is actual. There’s quite a lot of exercise taking place across the metaverse; witness Apple’s new headset launch.”

In addition to generative AI, next-generation AI covers a variety of frameworks and ideas, together with “frequent sense AI” and explainable AI.

Then there are next-generation computing architectures, together with quantum computing and biocomputing. The primary of which is already being carried out in Accenture shopper deliveries.

And after that? Solely the ultimate frontier: “There are many fascinating advances taking place in house know-how, each what occurs in house … satellite tv for pc communications … experiments in house. And likewise how you need to use data from house [like] low-Earth orbit satellites for transformative purposes again on Earth.”

You possibly can click on right here to look at my full interview with Paul Daugherty, Group Chief Govt, Expertise and CTO for Accenture.