Consulting Magazine, USA: Cognizant’s Global Managing Director of the Center for the Future of Work Says Artificial Intelligence is no Longer in the Laboratory

“We may think we understand “digital” and how big it’s going to be, but frankly we don’t,” says Paul Roehrig, citing a recent Cognizant survey of more than 2,000 global top executives for a unique look into the changing landscape of work in the digital era, producing a report called The Work Ahead. Excerpts from the interview:

“Executives we surveyed expect new technologies to impact about $770 billion in revenue per year. We found that the impact of digital transformation on these industries between 2015 and 2018 alone could be up to $20 trillion. We also learned that AI (artificial intelligence) is no longer in the laboratory. We found that virtually every business leader, from every corner of the world, recognizes that AI, coupled with big data and analytics, will be the number one driver of business change over the next three years.

AI is already at the core of experiences many of us have every day. It’s how we book a car through Uber, or arrange a hotel room through Hotel Tonight, or engage with Alexa to play the music we want. What’s beginning to happen, and what will accelerate over the coming years, is that AI will be applied more to work that matters — how we bank, how we insure our families, how we educate our children, and so on. The opportunity for all of us is to harness the power of these new machines, fuel them with massive amounts of data, and offer new services and products to the market through innovative commercial models.

Big shifts like this are full of opportunities for smart consultants. Leaders are seeking help in figuring out how to compete with data. Business leaders we work with are wrestling with profound business questions about how to take advantage of new machines — AI, algorithms, bots — and new business models. Moving into the digital economy will impact banking, insurance, healthcare, and virtually every industry. This will be very fertile ground for consultants who can help guide us into the digital economy.”

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