Article: AI to Boost Revenue and Employment: Accenture Study

Compensation & Benefits

AI to Boost Revenue and Employment: Accenture Study

Investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technologies can help increase revenues by 38% and raise employment levels by 10% by 2022.
AI to Boost Revenue and Employment: Accenture Study

A recently released report by Accenture Strategy says that sustained investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and human-machine collaboration (at the present rate of top companies) could result in significant gains in revenue, and also improve employment levels by 2022.

The report, titled ‘Reworking the Revolution: Intelligent Technology Meets Human Ingenuity to Create the Future Workforce’, is based on responses from 14,087employees across varied skill levels and generations and1,201 senior executives, who were asked about the importance of AI in business over the next few years.The survey was carried out between September and November 2017 in 11 countries (Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, UK and the USA) and in the following industry sectors: Automotive, Consumer Goods & Services; Health & Life Sciences; Infrastructure & Transportation; Energy; Media & Entertainment; Software & Platforms; Banking (Retail & Investment); Insurance; Retail; Telecommunications; Utilities.

The report says that global revenues can go up by 38% and employment levels increase by 10% over the next four years if AI and related technologies are adopted at the current pace of industry leaders. This would result in an increase of the collective global profits by $4.8 trillion over the same period, or, in other words, for the average S&P 500 company, this would translate to an increase of $7.5 billion in revenues and $880 million in profits. Here are a few other highlights of the report:

  • 72% of the senior executives believe that intelligent technology will be critical to their organization’s market differentiation.

  • Furthermore, 61% are of the view that the share of roles requiring collaboration with AI will rise over the next three years.

  • 63% of the senior executives reported that their company will create new jobs in the next three years through AI.

  • 54% of the business leaders think that human-machine collaboration is essential to their strategic priorities, yet merely 3% admitted to having plans to increase investment in re-skilling their workers in the same over the next five years. 

  • 29% of the businesses admitted having redesigned job roles extensively.

  • 67% of the workers think that it is important to develop skills to work alongside machines and intelligent systems. 

  • 62% of the workers are of the view that AI will have a positive impact on their work, and 45% think that AI will help in doing their jobs more efficiently. 

Mark Knickrehm, Group Chief Executive, Accenture Strategy, says in the company press release, "To achieve higher rates of growth in the age of AI, companies need to invest more in equipping their people to work with machines in new ways... Increasingly, businesses will be judged on their commitment to what we call Applied Intelligence - the ability to rapidly implement intelligent technology and human ingenuity across all parts of their core business to secure this growth.”

The report also suggests steps and strategies for business leaders to ensure that this integration of machines in the workforce is smooth, and the resultant combination works together to improve productivity, innovation, and growth.More than anything, the report serves as a timely reminder to work towards a workforce that will require new skills and will operate under a changed paradigm in the not-so-distant future. The optimism behind the advent of AI in business must be utilized to dispel misconceptions and build a solid foundation for a smart, skilled inclusive and sustainable workforce that can work alongside machines with ease. 

The complete ‘Reworking the Revolution: Intelligent Technology Meets Human Ingenuity to Create the Future Workforce’ report can be accessed and downloaded here

 

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Topics: Compensation & Benefits, Technology, #FutureofJobs

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