PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) at present unveiled grand plans to take a position $1 billion in increasing and scaling its artificial intelligence (AI) portfolio over the subsequent three years. The numerous funding goals to help shoppers in fully reimagining their enterprise workflows by way of generative AI.

In a bid to revolutionize the tech area, the agency has introduced a serious partnership with tech large Microsoft. The partnership goals to develop scalable AI options, harnessing OpenAI’s cutting-edge GPT-4/ChatGPT know-how alongside Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service. PwC believes this distinctive partnership will usher in a brand new period of innovation, propelling the corporate to better heights by unleashing generative AI’s full potential. 

“AI is already remodeling enterprise, and generative AI has not solely captured the world’s consideration, but it surely additionally represents an vital tipping level in bringing this highly effective know-how to everybody,” Joe Atkinson, chief merchandise and know-how officer at PwC, informed VentureBeat. “We imagine that AI, utilized in a accountable and trusted means, will revolutionize how all of us reside and work. This is the reason we determined to take a position $1 billion over the subsequent three years to broaden and scale our synthetic intelligence choices.”

The funding will improve the corporate’s inner platforms, incorporating an all-new generative AI setting that may streamline the agency’s tax, audit and consulting companies.

Simply final month, PwC’s international authorized follow announced that it’s embracing the OpenAI-based Harvey utility, which helps automate and improve numerous facets of authorized and tax work for shoppers. 

PwC has already hit the bottom operating, implementing superior capabilities inside Azure OpenAI Service for shoppers throughout an array of industries, from insurance coverage to aviation, healthcare and past. 

Not too long ago, the corporate constructed a customized generative language mannequin for a pharmaceutical firm that automated its drafting of security narratives and claims that this answer resulted in over 50% financial savings in end-to-end processing time, enabling clinicians to deal with higher-value work.

“We’re excited that PwC will make the most of Azure OpenAI Service to remodel the way in which they work, and to ship modern buyer options that reap the benefits of the world’s most superior AI fashions, backed by Azure’s trusted enterprise-grade capabilities and AI-optimized infrastructure,” mentioned Eric Boyd, company vp, AI platform at Microsoft, in a written assertion. “Our collaboration with PwC and OpenAI will likely be a game-changer that opens the floodgates for companies to expertise generative AI purposes in a protected and safe method.”

The bold plan additionally features a main upskilling program for PwC’s 65,000 staff, permitting them to leverage the complete potential of AI instruments and capabilities by way of the corporate’s proprietary My+ program.

PwC’s generative AI focus

PwC’s Atkinson mentioned that the corporate is proactively working with Microsoft to implement Microsoft 365’s generative AI capabilities as they grow to be out there. 

“We imagine generative AI has the potential to remodel just about each facet of how work will get accomplished,” Atkinson informed VentureBeat. “We’re constructing AI for ourselves and shoppers in a safe, enterprise setting on Azure OpenAI, and we’re leveraging our responsible AI framework to make sure that we do that with enough deal with bias, moral use and information privateness and to adapt to altering laws.” 

The corporate is now taking a daring leap ahead, utilizing generative AI to revolutionize the way it serves shoppers. It claims that the know-how is already yielding spectacular outcomes, saving time and prices whereas accelerating income development for its shoppers. 

“We lately utilized AI to an auto insurer’s declare estimation course of and helped them notice 29% effectivity financial savings,” Atkinson defined. “We now have additionally labored with a Fortune 500 telecom firm to develop end-to-end information and analytic modeling to enhance their tech help name middle expertise. Our work yielded an estimated Yr 1 saving of $18 million with 2% income acceleration for the shopper.”

Speaking concerning the upskilling program, he mentioned that nurturing its expertise by way of AI is integral to PwC’s present imaginative and prescient, and the corporate acknowledges that the easiest way to make sure that its groups proceed to ship distinctive work is by equipping them with cutting-edge know-how and experience. 

“Offering our group with a greater understanding of AI, its continued evolution, and the way it may be utilized in trusted and accountable methods will likely be key to serving to clear up our shoppers’ most advanced issues whereas on the identical time serving to our folks develop professionally all through their profession,” Atkinson mentioned.  

Streamlining enterprise workflows by way of accountable AI 

Whereas AI presents immense alternatives, it is usually fraught with dangers, and correct governance is essential in mitigating these dangers. PwC believes that tapping into the facility of AI know-how — in a accountable and trusted means — will likely be a key problem for companies throughout each sector and geography.  

New information from the corporate’s latest Trust Survey paints an interesting image of the present state of affairs within the tech world. The survey reveals that just about each enterprise chief is investing in AI-related initiatives and programs within the quick time period, signaling a transparent development towards the combination of AI in numerous industries.

Nevertheless, upon nearer examination of the report it turns into evident {that a} mere 35% of executives have intentions to prioritize the advance of governance for AI programs and reporting on AI mannequin efficiency.

“Throughout the portfolio of companies we offer our shoppers, we imagine AI holds the facility to create better effectivity, to enhance high quality, and to unlock our folks’s capability, releasing them from extra routine duties and permitting them to deal with creating the worth and belief our shoppers and stakeholders count on,” Atkinson mentioned. “Serving to our shoppers perceive and apply this know-how — not simply with level options, however at enterprise scale — will assist create aggressive differentiation for organizations and assist them handle their companies extra effectively.”

In 2019, the corporate made waves with the launch of its Responsible AI toolkit, providing shoppers a customizable suite of sources to assist them undertake moral and accountable AI practices. PwC’s framework for accountable AI is centered round selling governance and accountability for shoppers as they develop and deploy OpenAI’s cutting-edge generative AI know-how for numerous use circumstances.

“Accountable AI at its core is nice data science, ruled by key guiding ideas from technique to execution,” he mentioned. “Our Accountable AI (RAI) group helps shoppers construct AI their stakeholders can belief from wherever they’re on their AI journey.”

He emphasised that It’s important for each group to align on an moral AI framework and create a responsible-use coverage. 

“Transparency and belief are essential to the appliance of any know-how, however it’s significantly true with AI,” he mentioned. “The guardrails ought to lengthen past good intentions and coverage statements — they need to align on practices and actions that serve the group and their constituents, not solely of their present state, however because the know-how continues to evolve.”

An AI-driven future

Atkinson believes that over the long term, each business will likely be remodeled by the continued advances in AI.

“Each firm will face choices on how shortly to embrace and undertake these applied sciences, they usually’ll face the challenges of doing that responsibly. PwC is uniquely positioned to assist,” he mentioned. 

He believes that empowering professionals to harness the complete potential of rising applied sciences, resembling generative AI, would be the key to driving innovation and attaining organizational objectives. 

“Whereas AI will doubtless influence each function indirectly, we imagine that with the fitting expertise and instruments, the advance of those highly effective applied sciences will create extra alternatives not only for firms, however for his or her folks,” he mentioned. ”By unlocking the capability of those applied sciences, professionals throughout all roles can carry out their duties extra successfully, paving the way in which for continued development and profession development.”