Out with the old, in with the new – Accenture declares AI is 'mature and delivers value'
- Reference: 1686727749
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/06/14/accenture_doubles_ai_workforce/
- Source link:
Chair and CEO Julie Sweet wrote in a Tuesday [1]announcement that the investment is needed because "Companies that build a strong foundation of AI by adopting and scaling it now, where the technology is mature and delivers clear value, will be better positioned."
Sweet's declaration of AI as "mature" comes less than a year after the public debut of generative AI services like ChatGPT, and despite such tools regularly producing inaccurate output. The CEO's declaration was also made at a time when copyright and ethical issues around AI are utterly unresolved, and governments are proposing regulation for the tech.
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Accenture nonetheless thinks the time is now to double the headcount for its Data & AI unit.
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"There is unprecedented interest in all areas of AI, and the substantial investment we are making in our Data & AI practice will help our clients move from interest to action to value, and in a responsible way with clear business cases," Sweet wrote.
Accenture also touted its AI Navigator for Enterprise platform – a tool designed to help clients figure out how to use generative AI tools in their products and services, and understand what models are most effective for their applications. Meanwhile, the colossal consultancy's Center for Advanced AI will conduct research and development to invest in technological capabilities within its own organization, as well as others.
[5]IBM, Kyndryl cut jobs even after cutting ties
[6]Accenture puts 19,000 staffers' heads on the chopping block
[7]Corporations start testing Windows 11 in bigger numbers. Good luck
[8]Australian exchange pauses project to move stocks to blockchain
The heir to the Andersen Consulting empire plans to create AI accelerator programs for 19 industries that will make use of off-the-shelf models.
"Over the next decade, AI will be a mega-trend, transforming industries, companies, and the way we live and work, as generative AI transforms 40 percent of all working hours," Paul Daugherty, group chief executive, Accenture Technology, predicted in a statement.
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"Our expanded Data & AI practice brings together the full power and breadth of Accenture in creating industry-specific solutions that will help our clients harness AI's full potential to reshape their strategy, technology, and ways of working, driving innovation and value responsibly and faster than ever before."
The Data & AI team is expected to double to 80,000 people – which amounts to a little over 10 percent of Accenture's total workforce, given it says it has 738,000 staff working in over 120 countries. The decision to expand comes just three months after the corporation slashed 19,000 jobs in a round of [10]layoffs that mostly affected staff working in HR, finance, and legal. ®
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[1] https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/accenture-to-invest-3-billion-in-ai-to-accelerate-clients-reinvention.htm
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZImPxny4S39uU@7XzT5hpgAAARg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZImPxny4S39uU@7XzT5hpgAAARg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZImPxny4S39uU@7XzT5hpgAAARg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/04/ibm_and_kyndryl_are_cutting/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/24/accenture_19000_layoffs/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/05/corporate_enterprise_windows_11_pilots_/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/17/asx_blockchain_reading_project_paused/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZImPxny4S39uU@7XzT5hpgAAARg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/24/accenture_19000_layoffs/
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Which flavour of AI are they talking about here? There are some exciting potential uses for AI, but when I hear that the driver is just to lay people off, then I can only assume that the kind of AI being discussed is not one that helps a company "do better". E.g. using LLMs for chatbots and web content.
Bland homogenisation, dumbing-down and clickbait will be the new normal - because it will be easier, and a lot cheaper, than paying people to generate truly original content. The only on-line publications that will survive this sea-change are those that fill a targeted niche, and are really good at what they do.
So it's really concerning to see sites go down this road voluntarily, before AI has even got a toe in, when what they really need to do is make the best of what makes them different.
Translation
The consultants in Accenture have been smoking their own joss sticks again.
I have the misfortune to have to deal with Accentures procurement team for a particular service vertical. They are nice poeple but the utter bullshit about the industry they spout because they've been drinking the consulting arms koolaid you would not believe.
Sources
Accenture nonetheless thinks the time is now to double the headcount for its Data & AI unit.
Was Accenture's decision to do this based on a report generated by AI?
Nice one.
"...a round of layoffs that mostly affected staff working in HR, finance, and legal."
Now that's what I call a good start!