Expert: Execs fast turning smarter

More efforts are needed from companies to make artificial intelligence a strategic ally and make it more responsible, as more companies around the globe are accelerating plans to implement AI amid uncertainties like COVID-19 and the global economic downturn, said Wilson Chow, global technology, media and telecommunications industry leader of market consultancy PwC, at the Vision China event on Friday.

"There is no uncertainty here that companies are ramping up their AI investment. AI is paying off in concrete ways with benefits ranging from revenue growth to better decision-making and improved customer experience," Chow said.

According to a PwC survey, more than half of respondents, mostly top company executives, accelerated their AI adoption plans last year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 86 percent said that AI will become a "mainstream technology" at their company.

"The fastest way for them to get a return on investment, or ROI, is to use AI's advanced automation capabilities to improve efficiency and productivity," Chow said.

He said that 58 percent of survey respondents have increased investment in AI for workforce planning, 48 percent for simulation modeling and supply chain resilience, 43 percent for investment in AI for scenario planning and 42 percent for demand projections.

Together, these investments can "make AI a strategic ally", Chow said, adding that it will close the gap between ideas and execution to drive faster and better decisions.

To make AI a strategic ally, Chow also suggested making strategy a game－that is AI can game out different scenarios for a company, modeling future conditions and their likely impact. He also suggested rethinking and fine-tuning AI strategy continuously and acting quickly. "Most companies are aware of the risks associated with AI but most of them are not actually mitigating them. When we asked our survey respondents for their top-three priorities for AI applications, the top choice was responsible AI tools to improve privacy clarity, bias detection and governance," Chow said.

"But when it comes to action, we find that only a minority of corporations have adopted such plans in practice," he said, adding that responsible AI is the only way to mitigate AI risks.

In addition, Chow pointed out that upskilling is necessary, but it's not nearly enough to match the demands of an AI-centered workplace, and business leaders need to reevaluate exactly what they'll need from this future workforce.

Last but not least, the model is never done, he said, meaning that AI application has an impact across an entire organization where people have to reorganize the corporation and achieve collaboration as needed.