New research from Accenture finds that generative AI and other rapidly evolving technologies are ushering in a bold new future for business as physical and digital worlds become inextricably linked.
The Accenture Technology Vision 2023, “When Atoms Meet Bits: The Foundations of Our New Reality,” explores the technology trends underpinning the convergence of the physical and digital, as businesses look to accelerate enterprise reinvention in the here and now.
“The next decade will be defined by three mega technology trends—cloud, metaverse, and AI—which collectively will collapse the distance of our digital and physical worlds,” said Paul Daugherty, group chief executive of Accenture Technology.
“While generative AI will have far-reaching impact, leaders must dive in now to achieve its full promise, as it will require significant investments in data, people, and customizing foundation models to meet organizations’ unique needs”, Paul Daugherty added.
The meteoric rise of ChatGPT has captivated the world’s attention to the power of generative AI to augment human capability. Accenture estimates as much as 40% of all working hours will be supported or augmented by language-based AI.
Among business leaders, 98% of respondents agree AI foundation models will play an important role in their organization’s strategies over the next three to five years.
Accenture’s Technology Vision 2023 identifies four trends that are key to unlocking this new shared reality:
- Generative AI: Advancing human capability as a co-pilot, creative partner or advisor, nearly all executives agree that generative AI will spark significant creativity and innovation (98%) and usher in a new era of enterprise intelligence (95%).
- Digital identity: The ability to authenticate digital users and assets—the foundation for traversing digital and physical worlds—is now seen by 85% of executives as a strategic business imperative, not just a technical issue.
- My data, your data, our data: AI cannot reach its full potential until companies figure out data. That means breaking down data silos and modernizing their data foundations. In fact, 90% of executives believe data is becoming a key competitive differentiator within organizations and across industries.
- Our forever frontier: Feedback loop between science and technology is getting faster, with each accelerating the advancement of the other, in ways that 75% of respondents believe could begin to unlock the world’s grand challenges.
Building on years of research and client work, Accenture has established a company-wide team—the Generative AI and Large Language Model (LLM) Center of Excellence, bringing together 1,600 professionals dedicated to generative AI and leveraging the depth and experience of more than 40,000 AI and data professionals across Accenture.
Accenture Research conducted a global survey of 4,777 C-level executives and directors across 34 countries and 25 industries. The survey was fielded between December 2022 and January 2023.
