Accenture says frenzy surrounding artificial intelligence is unlike anything seen before

The fear of missing out is behind Australian businesses taking up AI products faster than any other technological advance before it, according to ­Accenture.

Accenture says demand for AI is unlike anything seen before.

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, is resulting in Australian businesses rushing to take up artificial intelligence products faster than any other technological advance before it, according to ­Accenture.

The professional firm says demand for its services has accelerated in recent months, with businesses concerned about competitors getting a head start on the technology that many corporates see as improving productivity in years to come.

Accenture strategy and consulting lead Emma Neil told The Australian that take-up of generative AI was unlike anything she had seen in the past three decades, eclipsing enthusiasm for smartphones, internet and computers.

“It is moving faster than other technical evolutions. In my 25 years of consulting, I have not experienced something quite like it with the enthusiasm for Gen AI,” she said.

“There is a sense of FOMO from businesses that they have to jump on this wave now because it’s moving so fast and everyone is swarming around it, so they don’t want to be seen lagging the pack”.

Generative AI derives insights from data, enabling it to create unique output, including images, music, text and even entire virtual environments.

Accenture strategy and consulting lead Emma Neil.

Ms Neil said that many organisations were experimenting with AI and had enlisted the technology-focused consulting firm to help develop strategies for its use within the workplace. She added that companies saw AI as offering improved productivity and efficiency within the workplace, and not as a way to cut staff.

Last month’s reporting season saw many ASX-listed companies discuss with shareholders how AI could be used over the coming years. Sonic Healthcare said its Franklin.ai, which it hopes will improve the pathology process, is now ready for validation studies and trials. Telstra disclosed that AI will be used to improve half of its key processes, including automatically detecting and resolving fixed service faults, and to solve customer issues faster.

Ms Neil said that enthusiasm for AI was in part being driven by a low cost barrier compared to other technological revolutions before it, which had helped to make it accessible to businesses of varying scale.

“There’s this big belief that AI is the next big wave of evolution of how we interact with technology and the workforce,” she said.

“It’s definitely non-negotiable in terms of how businesses want to move forward.”

Ms Neil said that businesses now had to decide whether to take a more slower people-led approach, or an aggressive rollout. She added that both methods offered different end results.

A people-led approach might be a wave of 10 years to get to the point where it’s optimised and holistically deployed. The more people-centric scenario is what we’re seeing traditionally high-performing organisations drive toward,” she said. “That’s not to say that others aren’t taking a more aggressive approach, but it can be a little more cost-driven, whereas I think that the people-centric approach is really about … let’s create a bigger pie.”

Originally published as Accenture says frenzy surrounding artificial intelligence is unlike anything seen before