Accenture chief says most companies not ready for AI rollout

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Most corporations are usually not able to deploy generative synthetic intelligence at scale as a result of they lack robust knowledge infrastructure or the controls wanted to ensure the expertise is used safely, based on the chief govt of the consultancy Accenture.

Essentially the most hyped expertise of 2023 is in an experimental part at most corporations and macroeconomic uncertainty is holding again IT spending typically, Julie Candy instructed the Monetary Instances in an interview forward of the corporate publishing quarterly outcomes on Tuesday.

Accenture reported one other large bounce in revenues from generative AI initiatives within the three months to November 30, with $450mn in bookings in contrast with $300mn over the earlier six months. However they continue to be small relative to group gross sales of $64bn yearly.

Company executives are eager to deploy the expertise to know knowledge throughout their organisation higher or to automate extra customer support, Candy stated. “The factor that’s going to carry it again, although, is . . . most corporations don’t have mature knowledge capabilities and if you happen to can’t use your knowledge, you may’t use AI. That stated, in three to 5 years we count on this to be an enormous a part of our enterprise.”

Accenture and different consulting teams have boasted of multibillion-dollar investments in generative AI, together with hiring and coaching employees, within the hope of a windfall from deploying the expertise to purchasers internationally.

Candy stated executives had been being “prudent” in rolling out the expertise, amid issues over easy methods to shield proprietary info and buyer knowledge and questions concerning the accuracy of outputs from generative AI models.

“We’re nonetheless on the stage the place most CEOs, requested if there’s somebody of their organisation who can inform them the place AI is getting used, what the dangers are and the way they’re being mitigated, the reply continues to be ‘no’.

“There’s a hole between saying you’re dedicated to accountable AI and having the packages that enable it to be actual on the bottom. The excellent news is that persons are not making an attempt to leap over the hole. They’re being cautious within the rollout and so it does restrict, within the brief time period, a number of the scaling alternatives.”

Candy stated this company prudence ought to assuage fears that the event of AI is working forward of human talents to regulate it — a priority that’s being debated furiously amongst technologists, not least at OpenAI, developer of the big language mannequin behind ChatGPT. OpenAI’s non-profit board ousted founder Sam Altman final month after an inner row, solely to reinstate him below strain from employees. The debacle raised questions on how OpenAI was being governed.

Accenture affords generative AI instruments based mostly on OpenAI by way of a partnership with Microsoft and might help purchasers customise the fashions to include their very own knowledge.

“It isn’t my duty to determine whether or not OpenAI has received the proper governance,” Candy instructed the FT. “Whether or not it’s OpenAI or some other foundational mannequin, it’s our job to know the mannequin, perceive the dangers, after which assist our purchasers get the worth out of the fashions whereas managing the dangers.” She stated she was snug with the extent of transparency round how the fashions labored.

Areas the place the deployment of generative AI was most superior embrace company information administration, similar to utilizing inner knowledge for fraud detection at a financial institution, Candy stated, or commodities buying and selling at an vitality firm. Shoppers are additionally more and more utilizing the expertise for customer support helplines or chatbots, although with people overseeing the output.

Accenture employs nearly 750,000 individuals in 120 international locations, providing IT and enterprise technique consulting and outsourcing similar to customer support centres. Its shares are up about 28 per cent this 12 months, however haven’t recaptured their excessive of 2021, when corporations had been racing to improve their expertise in the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

A downturn amongst purchasers within the tech business has crimped Accenture’s progress previously 12 months, and Candy is in the course of a cost-cutting programme that can eradicate 19,000 jobs.

On Tuesday, Accenture stated gross sales within the UK specifically had been weaker than anticipated, because it struggled to seek out new purchasers to make up for sluggish demand from the banking sector.

Prospects had been persevering with to signal contracts that would assist them minimize prices, Candy stated, particularly people who additionally concerned IT enhancements to assist them develop over the long term. Nevertheless, macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties had been a headwind.

“There aren’t any purchasers saying to me that they need to spend much less on tech,” she stated. “Most CEOs immediately would spend extra if they may. The macro is a critical problem. There are usually not quite a lot of inexperienced shoots around the globe. CEOs are usually not saying 2024 goes to look nice. And in order that’s going to proceed to be a drag on the tempo of spending.”