PwC US to invest $1 billion for expanding generative AI capabilities in collaboration with Microsoft

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the present day unveiled grand plans to speculate $1 billion in increasing and scaling its artificial intelligence (AI) portfolio over the following three years. The numerous funding goals to help purchasers in fully reimagining their enterprise workflows by generative AI.

In a bid to revolutionize the tech area, the agency has introduced a significant partnership with tech big 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 higher heights by unleashing generative AI’s full potential. 

“AI is already remodeling enterprise, and generative AI has not solely captured the world’s consideration, nevertheless it additionally represents an necessary tipping level in bringing this highly effective know-how to everybody,” Joe Atkinson, chief merchandise and know-how officer at PwC, advised VentureBeat. “We consider that AI, utilized in a accountable and trusted manner, will revolutionize how all of us stay and work. This is the reason we determined to speculate $1 billion over the following 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 observe announced that it’s embracing the OpenAI-based Harvey utility, which helps automate and improve numerous facets of authorized and tax work for purchasers. 

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

Just lately, 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 rework the way in which they work, and to ship modern buyer options that make the most of the world’s most superior AI fashions, backed by Azure’s trusted enterprise-grade capabilities and AI-optimized infrastructure,” stated Eric Boyd, company vice chairman, AI platform at Microsoft, in a written assertion. “Our collaboration with PwC and OpenAI can be a game-changer that opens the floodgates for companies to expertise generative AI purposes in a secure 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 the corporate’s proprietary My+ program.

PwC’s generative AI focus

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

“We consider generative AI has the potential to rework just about each side of how work will get completed,” Atkinson advised VentureBeat. “We’re constructing AI for ourselves and purchasers in a safe, enterprise setting on Azure OpenAI, and we’re leveraging our responsible AI framework to make sure that we do that with ample 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 purchasers. It claims that the know-how is already yielding spectacular outcomes, saving time and prices whereas accelerating income progress for its purchasers. 

“We just 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 stated that nurturing its expertise by AI is integral to PwC’s present imaginative and prescient, and the corporate acknowledges that one of the best ways 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 can be key to serving to remedy our purchasers’ most advanced issues whereas on the similar time serving to our individuals develop professionally all through their profession,” Atkinson stated.  

Streamlining enterprise workflows by accountable AI 

Whereas AI presents immense alternatives, it’s also 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 manner — can be a key problem for companies throughout each sector and geography.  

New information from the corporate’s latest Trust Survey paints a captivating image of the present state of affairs within the tech world. The survey reveals that nearly each enterprise chief is investing in AI-related initiatives and methods within the brief time period, signaling a transparent pattern towards the mixing of AI in numerous industries.

Nonetheless, 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 methods and reporting on AI mannequin efficiency.

“Throughout the portfolio of companies we offer our purchasers, we consider AI holds the facility to create higher effectivity, to enhance high quality, and to unlock our individuals’s capability, liberating them from extra routine duties and permitting them to deal with creating the worth and belief our purchasers and stakeholders count on,” Atkinson stated. “Serving to our purchasers 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 purchasers a customizable suite of assets to assist them undertake moral and accountable AI practices. PwC’s framework for accountable AI is centered round selling governance and accountability for purchasers as they develop and deploy OpenAI’s cutting-edge generative AI know-how for numerous use instances.

“Accountable AI at its core is nice data science, ruled by key guiding ideas from technique to execution,” he stated. “Our Accountable AI (RAI) group helps purchasers 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 vital to the applying of any know-how, however it’s significantly true with AI,” he stated. “The guardrails ought to lengthen past good intentions and coverage statements — they have 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 trade can 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 stated. 

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

“Whereas AI will possible impression each position not directly, we consider 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 individuals,” he stated. ”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 progress and profession development.”