Technology outsourcing giant Accenture has launched its generative AI studio in nine countries across Asia Pacific and Latin America, including the Philippines, to respond to growing client interest in the technology.
Aside from the Philippines, studios across Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Greater China, India, Japan, Mexico, and Singapore are now open to connect clients with data and AI experts from Accenture and ecosystem partners to enable rapid experimentation, co-creation and scaling of generative AI solutions.
“Clients today are ready to move beyond proof of concepts and into production to tackle more complex business problems across their value chain. They also recognize that generative AI introduces new, unique risks that need consideration and mitigation,” Leo Framil, CEO of Accenture Growth Markets, said in a statement.
“Drawing on our experience of client conversations, existing projects, our rich talent and industry partnerships, our generative AI Studios will provide enterprises with the best ideas and capabilities to shape tailor made solutions and help them reinvent their business, responsibly.”
According to a recent Accenture survey, 77% of the C-suite in Asia Pacific plan to increase their AI-related spending in 2024 as companies move from proof of concept to customizing foundation models with proprietary data. 84% of the C-suite in Latin America plan to do the same.
The studios will cater to a wide range of industry and functional needs, but each will also specialize in one or more industries including banking, insurance, telecommunications, public sector, manufacturing, renewable energy, chemicals and mining.
The studios are part of Accenture’s $3 billion investment in data and AI. The company also recently announced the launch of specialized services to help clients build their own large language models that are tailored to meet their specific business needs.
Meanwhile, Accenture said it sees widespread adoption in the workplace of key technologies such as AI, immersive artificial environments, and human-machine interfaces with more “human-like” and “human-centric” qualities.
“As AI, spatial computing and body-sensing technologies evolve to a point where tech appears to imitate human capabilities and seem invisible, what you’ll see left are the people – empowered with new capabilities to accomplish things they once considered impossible,” Accenture chief technology and innovation officer Paul Daugherty said in a statement.
“This important seismic shift in the way people work, live and learn will accelerate a wave of unprecedented change across industries, from retail and entertainment to medicine and manufacturing. Organizations that act now to reinvent their business and ways of working using ‘human by design’ technologies will redefine what it means to be an industry leader,” he added.
In its Technology Vision 2024 report, aptly subtitled, “Human by Design: How AI Unleashes the Next Level of Human Potential,” Accenture cast a hopeful albeit cautious eye on these key technologies that are poised to redefine the workplace.
Moreover, the company forecast that ever more sophisticated AI will change how people approach and consume knowledge. Intelligent technologies built with human interaction in mind are also expected to make a strong impact on customer services and relations.
Meanwhile, immersive environments and wearable and implantable technologies are poised to streamline these interactions even further.
“Human-centered technologies like generative AI are poised to unleash human potential and deliver a staggering array of business and societal benefits, but only if we take a balanced, ‘human by design’ approach that ensures these technologies are used fairly and responsibly,” Daugherty explained.
