August 31, 2023

The new era of generative AI, where AI’s transformative potential is now accessible to everyone

The advent of ChatGPT has brought about a wave of creativity and global attention, awakening the world to the power of artificial intelligence. With its ability to closely mimic human dialogue and decision-making

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The advent of ChatGPT has brought about a wave of creativity and global attention, awakening the world to the power of artificial intelligence. With its ability to closely mimic human dialogue and decision-making, ChatGPT is the first true inflection point in public adoption of AI. This breakthrough has finally allowed people everywhere to witness the technology’s true disruptive potential for themselves.
A foundation model refers to large models with billions of parameters that can be used to build specialized image- and language-generating models. Recent advances have made it possible for companies to leverage these foundation models to create LLMs, which are both a type of generative AI and a type of foundation model. These LLMs have the potential to transform the way we communicate and interact with machines, with the ability to understand and generate human-like language.
The new era of generative AI presents exciting possibilities for fields such as healthcare, finance, and education. Healthcare professionals can leverage AI’s natural language processing capabilities to better communicate with patients and provide personalized care. In finance, AI-powered chatbots can assist customers with their queries and provide personalized recommendations. In education, AI can create personalized learning experiences tailored to each student’s unique needs.
However, this new era also brings about challenges such as ethical considerations and the potential for bias in AI-generated content. As we continue to explore the possibilities of generative AI, it is important to ensure that we do so in a responsible and ethical manner. With the proper safeguards in place, the potential of generative AI is limitless and can lead to a brighter future for us all.
The development of LLMs for ChatGPT represents a significant milestone in the field of artificial intelligence. Two key factors contribute to the game-changing nature of LLMs. Firstly, they have successfully tackled the issue of language complexity. This means that machines are now capable of comprehending language, context, and intent, and can generate independent and creative responses. Secondly, the models are pre-trained on vast amounts of data, including text, images, and audio, and can be fine-tuned for a wide range of tasks. This allows for the models to be repurposed and reused for a variety of purposes.
The successful development of LLMs is an exciting development for the field of artificial intelligence. It is a testament to the progress that has been made in the field and the potential for even greater advancements in the future. One of the most significant benefits of LLMs is their ability to comprehend and generate language, which has long been a challenge for machines. Additionally, the fact that these models can be adapted for various tasks means that they have a wide range of potential applications.
In conclusion, the development of LLMs for ChatGPT is a crucial turning point in the field of artificial intelligence. The ability of these models to understand and generate language, as well as their adaptability for various tasks, is a breakthrough that has the potential to revolutionize the field. The continued development of LLMs and their widespread use will undoubtedly lead to even more significant advancements in the field of artificial intelligence.
Business executives are fully aware of the importance of this moment and the potential impact of LLMs and generative AI on various fields such as business, science, and society itself. They understand that these technologies will open up new possibilities and help achieve unprecedented levels of performance. The positive impact on human creativity and productivity is expected to be enormous. In fact, according to Accenture, 40% of all working hours can be influenced by LLMs like GPT-4 in all industries. This is because language-related tasks make up 62% of the total time employees spend working, and 65% of that time can be made more efficient through augmentation and automation. Therefore, business leaders must carefully consider the potential of these technological advancements and how they can be utilized to drive growth and innovation.
The journey towards generative AI has been a long and challenging one, but the end result promises to revolutionize the field of artificial intelligence.
• The initial ten years of the 21st century witnessed the swift progression of diverse machine learning methods that could scrutinize vast amounts of online information to reach conclusions or “learn” from the outcomes. As a result, enterprises have perceived machine learning as an immensely potent domain of AI for scrutinizing data, detecting patterns, generating insights, making predictions, and automating tasks at an unprecedented speed and level. The technology has enabled organizations to make data-driven decisions that have significantly transformed their businesses.

• The decade of 2010 has witnessed momentous advances in the artificial intelligence’s perception capabilities through the deep learning technology. This field of machine learning has paved the way for breakthroughs in computer vision, which enables the classification and detection of objects in search engines and self-driving cars. Moreover, it has also led to the development of natural voice recognition, which allows popular AI speech assistants to respond to users in a smooth and seamless manner.

• Building upon the remarkable advancements in deep learning models, Generative AI has entered into the language-mastery phase. The GPT-4 language model, produced by OpenAI, has initiated a new phase in the capabilities of language-based AI applications. This model has far-reaching implications for businesses since language is an integral part of every organizational process, including institutional knowledge and communication. The exponential growth in the size and abilities of deep learning models will make language mastery a key aspect of the 2020s.

With the option to either consume or customize, Generative AI is now accessible to all individuals.
Easy-to-use generative AI applications such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, and others are making the technology accessible to more people in business and society. This democratization will have a significant impact on organizations. Large language models (LLMs) can potentially process massive amounts of data, enabling them to understand everything an organization has ever known, including its history, context, nuance, and intent. This includes all language-based information such as applications, systems, documents, emails, chats, video and audio recordings. This information can be utilized to drive innovation, optimization, and reinvention to the next level.
Currently, most organizations are starting to experiment with pre-existing foundation models. However, the greatest value will be realized when organizations customize or fine-tune these models using their own data to meet their unique needs. By doing so, they can achieve a competitive advantage and differentiate themselves from others in their industry. The potential of generative AI is immense, and as more organizations adopt and customize the technology, we can expect to see even more transformative changes in the future.
Consume
Generative AI and LLM applications are readily available for consumption and easily accessible to interested parties. Companies can integrate these applications into their own systems through APIs and customize them to suit their specific use cases by utilizing techniques such as prompt tuning and prefix learning. These applications offer a great deal of flexibility and can be tailored to the unique needs of each organization, allowing for highly customized and efficient solutions to be developed.
Customize
Most businesses will require tailored models that are fine-tuned with their own data to ensure they are generally useful and valuable. This process will enable the models to assist in specific downstream tasks, which can be applied throughout the entire organization. As a result, companies will be able to enhance their effectiveness in using AI to unlock new performance boundaries. This will lead to the improvement of employee capabilities, the satisfaction of customers, the introduction of new business models, and the enhancement of responsiveness to signals of change, thus contributing to the company’s growth and success.
As we continue to advance technologically, companies are increasingly looking to use these new models to revolutionize the way work is carried out. With the integration of AI co-pilots, every role in an enterprise has the potential to be transformed, offering a significant boost to the capabilities of human workers. With the rise of automation, some tasks will be carried out by machines, while others will be assisted. There will still be some tasks that remain unaffected by technology. However, there will also be a plethora of new tasks for humans to perform, such as ensuring that new AI-powered systems are used accurately and responsibly. As we continue to embrace these changes, it is important to keep in mind the potential benefits that these new technologies can offer while also being mindful of the challenges that may arise.
AI models will have a significant impact on various key functions, including advising, creating, coding, automating and protecting.
Advising: These models will act as co-pilots for workers and enhance their productivity by providing them with hyper-personalized intelligence. This intelligence will be useful in various areas such as customer support, sales enablement, human resources, medical and scientific research, corporate strategy, and competitive intelligence. For instance, large language models can be utilized to tackle the complex aspect of customer service communication. Since around 70% of customer service communication is not straightforward, having a conversational and intelligent bot that can understand a customer’s intent, formulate answers, and enhance the accuracy and quality of responses can be highly beneficial. Therefore, AI models will revolutionize various industries and facilitate the workforce in performing their jobs more efficiently.
Creating: Generative AI is rapidly becoming an indispensable creative collaborator for individuals, presenting novel avenues to captivate and appeal to audiences while bringing unprecedented levels of speed and innovation to fields such as production design, design research, visual identity, naming, copy generation and testing, and realtime personalization. Companies have begun to embrace cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems such as DALL·E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion to bolster their social media visual content generation outreach. DALL·E, for instance, generates realistic images and artwork based on textual descriptions, utilizing up to 12 billion parameters while converting words into pictures. The resultant images can then be shared across popular social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, guaranteeing maximum reach and engagement. As generative AI continues to evolve and expand, it will be fascinating to observe the groundbreaking ways in which it facilitates and enhances creativity and artistic expression across numerous domains, from film and television to advertising and marketing. The potential that generative AI holds for revolutionizing the creative landscape is immense and exciting, and it is poised to shape the future of human expression in ways that we cannot yet fathom.
Coding: Software developers are set to benefit from the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which promises to significantly enhance productivity. This technology can rapidly convert one programming language to another, automate code writing, predict and prevent problems, and manage system documentation. Accenture is currently testing the use of OpenAI LLMs to improve developer productivity by automatically generating documentation, such as SAP configuration rationale and functional or technical specifications. Users will be able to submit requests via Microsoft Teams chat while working, and the solution will provide correctly packaged documents promptly. This is an excellent example of how specific tasks will be augmented and automated, rather than entire jobs. With the use of generative AI, software developers can expect to achieve greater efficiency and precision in their work, leading to improved results and increased productivity. The adoption of this technology is expected to have a significant impact on the software development industry, making it more streamlined and efficient than ever before.
Automating: It will experience a new phase of hyper-efficiency and hyper-personalization through generative AI. Its advanced comprehension of past events, next best actions, summarization skills, and predictive intelligence will usher in a new age of transformation in both the front and back office. An international bank has employed generative AI and LLMs to revolutionize how they handle masses of post-trade processing emails. This involves automatically creating messages with recommended actions and directing them to the intended recipient. The outcome is reduced manual labor and smoother customer interactions, which have led to improved customer satisfaction.
Protecting: Generative AI has the potential to aid in enterprise governance and information security, ultimately protecting against fraudulent activity, enhancing regulatory compliance and recognizing potential risks by establishing connections and drawing inferences both internally and externally. Strategic cyber defense could benefit from LLMs and their capabilities to promptly classify websites and clarify malware. Although, in the short term, organizations must be cognizant of the potential for criminals to leverage generative AI to generate malicious code or craft the ideal phishing email. As generative AI continues to advance, it will be a key asset in safeguarding against fraudulent activity and enhancing regulatory compliance. LLMs can also offer valuable capabilities in strategic cyber defense, including the ability to quickly classify websites and explain malware. Despite the potential benefits of generative AI, organizations must remain vigilant of its misuse by criminals who may use it to generate malicious code or craft targeted phishing emails.

The future of technology, regulation, and business is set to evolve at a rapid pace and this presents a rare opportunity.
The next few years will witness an exceptional level of investment in generative AI, LLMs, and foundation models. The evolution of these technologies is unique in that their adoption, regulation, and technological advancement are all accelerating exponentially at the same time. This is unlike previous innovation curves where the technology usually outpaced both regulation and adoption. As a result, it is important for businesses to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape in order to remain competitive and relevant. The coming years hold promise for great advancements in technology, and companies that are able to adapt to the changing landscape will be better positioned for success.
The technology stack
The intricate technology that supports generative AI is anticipated to progress swiftly at every level, which is significant for businesses. It is important to note that the compute power required for training the biggest AI models has increased at an exponential rate, with doubling occurring every 3.4 to 10 months, as reported by various sources. Due to the energy-intensive nature of generative AI, cost and carbon emissions are key factors to consider when deciding to adopt the technology. Therefore, companies must take these considerations into account before implementing generative AI.
Each layer within the generative AI technology stack will undergo rapid evolution as follows:
Applications:
Applications such as Generative AI and LLMs are poised to become more accessible to users through cloud-based APIs as well as direct embedding into other applications. Companies will be able to take advantage of these tools either as-is, or by customizing and optimizing them with proprietary data. The result will be a versatile suite of solutions that can be tailored to meet the specific needs of any business, large or small.
Fine-tuning: The process of fine-tuning a model is of utmost importance, as it requires a diverse range of skills that span across several disciplines. This creates a demand for professionals who possess knowledge in software engineering, psychology, linguistics, art history, literature and library science. With the increasing emphasis on model fine-tuning, it is imperative that individuals acquire multidisciplinary skills to perform this task efficiently.
Foundation models: The significance of model fine-tuning will result in a need for a diverse range of skills encompassing various fields such as software engineering, psychology, linguistics, art history, literature, and library science.
Data: Improvement of the maturity of the enterprise data lifecycle is a necessary requirement for achieving success. It entails mastering new data, new data types, and massive volumes of data. Furthermore, the emergence of generative AI features in modern data platforms will enhance adoption at scale, making it easier to achieve this objective.
Infrastructure: Cloud infrastructure is a crucial component for deploying generative AI while simultaneously managing costs and minimizing carbon emissions. In order to accommodate this infrastructure, data centers will require retrofitting to ensure they are equipped for the task at hand. Furthermore, new chipset architectures and hardware innovations will play a pivotal role in making this a reality, as will the development of efficient algorithms that can operate within this context. All of these factors must be considered when designing and implementing cloud infrastructure for generative AI.
The landscape concerning risk and regulatory policies poses a significant challenge.
Enterprises today have the opportunity to leverage generative AI and foundational models in numerous ways, which can substantially improve their efficiency and grant them a competitive edge. It is understandable that firms would be eager to kick-start their AI journey as soon as possible. However, a comprehensive enterprise-wide strategy must consider all forms of AI and their associated technologies, rather than merely limiting itself to generative AI and large language models.
The chatbot GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) raises crucial questions about the responsible use of AI. With the rapid pace of technological innovation and adoption, it is vital for companies to be mindful of the legal, ethical, and reputational risks they may incur. They must take a proactive approach to address these risks and ensure that their AI initiatives align with the company’s broader goals and values. This approach can help companies build trust with stakeholders and establish themselves as responsible leaders in the industry.
Responsible and compliant design of generative AI technologies such as ChatGPT is crucial to prevent any unacceptable risks to businesses. Accenture has been a forerunner in the ethical use of technology, and has included responsible use of AI in its Code of Business Ethics since 2017. By adhering to clear principles that promote respect for people and benefit society, responsible AI empowers businesses and enables them to build trust in AI, ultimately leading to confident scaling of AI applications. Therefore, it is imperative for companies to prioritize responsible AI practices in order to ensure the responsible design, building, and deployment of AI.
AI systems require a diverse and inclusive set of inputs to be “raised” in such a way that they reflect the wider business and societal norms of responsibility, fairness, and transparency. The design and implementation of AI within an ethical framework accelerates the potential for responsible collaborative intelligence, where human ingenuity and intelligent technology meet. This lays the groundwork for trust with consumers, the workforce, and society, and can enhance business performance and unlock new sources of growth. By prioritizing diversity and inclusivity in AI development, we can create more equitable and effective systems that benefit everyone.
The extent to which businesses have implemented a particular technology or methodology.
Companies are required to transform their work processes in order to discover a way to generate AI value. It’s imperative that business leaders lead the way in implementing this change, starting immediately, by redesigning jobs, tasks and retraining employees. In the end, every role in an enterprise has the potential to be remodeled, after breaking down current roles into tasks that can be automated or assisted and recreated for a new era of human-machine collaboration. It’s an opportune time for companies to initiate this change and stay ahead of the curve in the competitive market.
Generative artificial intelligence is set to revolutionize the way we work, ushering in an era of unprecedented collaboration between humans and machines. With this new paradigm comes the introduction of the “copilot,” a technological assistant that will change the nature of work as we know it. Virtually every job will be affected, with some being eliminated entirely, most being transformed, and new roles being created. Organizations that invest in reshaping how jobs are approached and training employees to work alongside machines will be at the forefront of this shift, creating new standards for performance and outpacing their less innovative competitors.