PwC Appoints First AI Leader To Head-Up The Rise Of The Machines

In response to the continued rise of artificial intelligence (AI), professional services firm PwC has appointed its first AI leader.

PwC partner Euan Cameron will fill the new role of UK Artificial Intelligence leader, where he will oversee the the firm’s and clients use of emerging automation technology.

“This year we expect to see more and more artificial intelligence initiatives move from theory to practice. We are exploring a wide range of opportunities to deploy this technology internally, but also to help our clients with many of their critical business issues. Different industries are adopting Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and AI at varying rates but with the field developing so rapidly, those who wait could miss out on the myriad positive opportunities it will bring,” said Cameron.

“To be successful, AI needs to be implemented as part of a broader business transformation strategy. We are working with our clients on three main areas: helping businesses to understand the value of AI and the opportunities it holds; supporting their full AI journey from initial projects to large scale transformation; and providing assurance services to create trust and confidence around AI-enabled business functions.”

AI big boss

Cameron will work closely with PwC’s 800 plus strong roster of data and analytics specialists across the firm’s various division; 30 AI, machine learning and RPA specialists will form Cameron’s core team, though PwC has plans to increase its specialists to a cohort of 200 by 2020.

The appointment of Cameron is a clear indication that PwC sees a lot of potential to make money out of automation technologies and Ai, even though the technology is still fairly immature when compared to human intelligence.

With the rapid development of driverless cars and AI finding it way into businesses to support humans with daily tasks, such as picking groceries with a soft touch, it is not the biggest surprise to see PwC appoint and AI leader.

However, automation often  comes at the cost of jobs, so PwC will need to find a way to address that in a way that does not position its clients with the difficult task of replacing humans with autonomous systems, thereby fanning the flames that the eventual rise of AI will render the need for humans, or human workers at least, moot in the future.

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