AI Will Generate $4 Trillion In Annual Productivity Before 2030: IBM CEO Arvind Krishna At Davos 2024
IBM Chairman and CEO, Arvind Krishna, at the 54th Annual Meeting of The World Economic Forum in Davos, stressed the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI), predicting a USD 4 trillion annual productivity surge before the end of the decade.
Krishna highlighted the immediate need for businesses and individuals to embrace AI technologies to stay competitive in the evolving landscape.
During a panel discussion at Davos 2024, the IBM chief provided insights into the specific areas where AI is poised to bring substantial productivity gains. He shed light on the advantages for programmers.
"We can see 20-40 per cent productivity for a programmer who embraces AI as opposed to one who doesn't," he said.
A recent report by International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealed that AI could impact 40 per cent of all jobs across the globe. The report also revealed that higher-income earners (in countries including India) are more likely to benefit from AI adoption, raising questions about the potential exacerbation of income inequality.
Further, Krishna at Davos said that customer service will be impacted a lot as well. "Whether you're writing emails back, whether you're answering phone calls, whether you're trying to answer really tough questions—all the way to people calling in with tough problems, and can you get them through those quicker with a higher satisfaction than without using artificial intelligence."
Krishna also introduced the concept of "digital labour," emphasising the potential for AI to enhance various business functions. "Can you help make your accounts receivable? Can you help make your HR function? Can you help make your finance function? Can you help make invoicing, contracting, supply chain ordering as you go into each of these?" he stressed, underlining the broad range of processes that can benefit from AI integration.
"If you embrace AI, you go on to make yourself a lot more productive. If you do not, then probably … you may not have a job." - IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna
The IBM CEO said that the impact of AI is not a distant future scenario but an immediate reality. "This is not two, three years out, you've got to get going now," he urged, underscoring the urgency for businesses and individuals to start incorporating AI into their operations to remain competitive.
"In India, 90% of the business leaders surveyed are planning to invest more in AI and Gen AI" - Capgemini's "Embracing a brighter future: Investment Priorities for 2024" report
Agreeing with Krishna during the panel discussion, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet delved into the evolving landscape of AI technology, highlighted its profound impact on industries and warning against complacency. A year after the discourse revolved around the novelty of speechwriting, Sweet said there are now tangible applications of technology across sectors.
Sweet revealed that Accenture is actively engaged in over 700 projects spanning diverse industries, showcasing the widespread implementation of technology. She cautioned against assuming certain industries were advancing faster than others, stressing that leaders in technology adoption exist in every sector.
"There isn't an area, there's not an industry that's not going to be impacted (by AI)," said Julie Sweet, Accenture CEO. "In the last 30 years, I can't remember a single technology where I could stand in front of a CEO and show a material impact with credibility. That is very different."
Sweet noted that companies could be currently categorised into two camps based on their AI technology adoption status. Those not ready to embrace it are experimenting with technologies like Microsoft copilot. On the other hand, more advanced companies are integrating technology into the core of their operations.
"There's no room for complacency (with AI). Even in seemingly slower industries, there are companies making significant strides in adopting and implementing technology." - Julie Sweet, CEO, Accenture
In June 2023, Accenture announced a USD 3 billion investment into its Data and AI practice.
Speaking from a government perspective during the same panel discussion, Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE's Artificial Intelligence Minister, shed light on the prevalent ignorance at the government level regarding artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The minister expressed concern about the common tendency among governments to resort to red tape and outright bans due to a lack of understanding, hindering the potential benefits that AI could bring.
"When it comes to government, our first reaction is, we don't understand it. Let's put red tape around it and let's ban it," said Al Olama.
The minister stressed on the need for a more informed and strategic approach, drawing parallels between the challenges of combating climate change and addressing AI.
"So, what we believe in the UAE, first, we're going to deploy AI in things like oil and gas, combating climate change, trying to minimise traffic and the hindrance on quality of life—things that are non-controversial, that improve quality of life positively," Al Olama remarked.
