This was the key takeaway from a recent event held by Accenture at its Innovation Hub in Dublin’s docklands. A diverse audience of Accenture’s clients from all sectors was in attendance to hear how emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality are poised to completely transform how businesses engage with their customers. Importantly, when paired with human insight and oversight, this next generation tech will also achieve wider societal benefits, for example in the areas of diversity, disability and inclusion.
Demos of the tech being discussed were eagerly watched by attendees. To see is to believe, and the startling promise of these innovations was evident even to the casual observer. For example, Prompt is a tool that uses generative AI technology to subvert all our ideas about digital content creation. Proof of how sophisticated AI has become, to the point where it can seamlessly assume a brand’s tone and guidelines for quality content creation at scale. It also allows for content verification and moderation – crucial for medical information, for example.
Touchcast is another innovation that has the potential to completely transform the customer shopping experience, providing a digital sales experience that brings together the best parts of shopping – the personalised in-store experience and the convenience of online.
“We are at a unique moment in time where innovation cycles are converging and moving faster than ever,” said David Treat, senior managing director and co-lead of Accenture’s metaverse business. A computer used to be “something you drove to”, back when they were the size of a house, he noted. Today, we carry unimaginable computing power in our pockets. Now, as computing moves to the face via headsets – and even closer to the brain in the future, he warned – technology will no longer be restricted to a 2D experience on panes of glass.
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“It is breaking away from the flat planes of glass and moving into the context of our lives.”
The result will be a “fundamental business model change”, where businesses will be able to present their products and services in the context of their customers’ lives, Treat explained. For example, blockchain is widely misunderstood, but essentially it enables people to bring their entire identity, money and objects with them from digital experience to digital experience. We already have tokenised versions of our debit and credit cards stored on our phone, he pointed out, but this is a “total pivot”, allowing for real-time, up-to-date information to travel with us rather than the “stale” data that has been stored historically.
“The winning digital business is not going to be the one that positions itself to harvest data off a network and buy it from someone else and then use AI to make sense of it,” warned Treat. “Businesses must earn direct trusted access to this tokenised data.”
Organisations may be wary or even overwhelmed by the potential impact of these technologies, But Treat urged businesses to carve out some of their team to at least “play around” with the tech in an “unencumbered” way, so they can assess the value they could have for their business. “Give them freedom to experiment and play ... because you have to have a view on this.”
Embracing disruptive tech will take investment, added James Temple, co-lead of Accenture’s metaverse business. “But more importantly, it’s about giving that ring-fenced part of your workforce space to play. Innovation has never moved as fast as it is right now and will never move as slowly again.”
When it comes to AI, most of us think of chatbots, those little text boxes that pop up to help us when on a website, yet the new generation of AI will bring these to the next level. “With chatbots, the tone is flat,” Temple admitted. “With better AI, this will mean more rich engagement and empathetic expression.” These advances are coming much sooner than we think – the launch of ChatGPT took everyone by surprise to become the most downloaded app ever, Treat noted.
Indeed, the new interface of tech will be far from the scrolling, pinching and clicking we have become accustomed to, the speakers agreed. Rather, it will be a much more human and organic experience. And technology can be truly transformational when used in the right way, stressed Oonagh O’Shea, managing director for Accenture’s data and AI business. A parent of a child with special needs, she is certain of its benefits in this space. “It’s not only from a business perspective,” she said. “I am really optimistic about a bright future, where assistive technologies can be used in the right way to further disability and inclusion.”
With great power comes great responsibility, and the responsible use of AI was highlighted throughout the event. Companies need to be managing their data responsibly and ensuring it is of good quality. O’Shea stressed the need for “fairness and transparency”.
“Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should – we have to ask what the benefit is and how, where and when AI should be developed.” Technology will not be a panacea, she said; the “allure of tech” is real but the human benefit should always be sought out. “The emphasis must be on humanising it and realising the wider societal benefits.”
Accenture’s recent Technology Vision report showed that Irish organisations are already cognisant of the impact next gen tech will have on how they operate. O’Shea explained that 97 out of 100 executives surveyed agreed that every aspect of their business is going to transform in the next decade with these technologies and “most likely quicker than that”. “It is inspiring their strategies and development of their operating models – there is a lot of positivity and expectation.” Ireland has a relatively young workforce, she added. “They don’t just want to work with this tech, they expect to.”
The bottom line is that businesses need to show agility when it comes to responding to the blistering pace of emerging technologies, and target their investment for the best returns. While it does not require a different talent pool, a different skill set is needed to optimise the use of this tech, as we move from coders to “prompters”. “While hugely exciting these new technologies emphasise the need more than ever for businesses to be adaptive and responsive to this rapidly changing environment,” said Austin Boyle, head of technology at Accenture in Ireland.
Next-level tech can be intimidating and even overwhelming, Hilary O’Meara Accenture Ireland’s country managing director says, “But the most important thing is to just get started because otherwise you could get left behind.
“When I look at these disruptive technologies that are now becoming mainstream, it’s a moment in time and a moment of opportunity – I would love to see Irish businesses lead from the front and take that opportunity.”
Businesses seeking to embed more technology into their business for competitive advantage should be clear with what they want to achieve with these technologies, O’Meara added.
“Invest in your talent and get your teams ready for change, because the only thing that’s certain is that change is going to be continuous.”