Artificial intelligence software is likely to be the most disruptive force in technology in the coming decade and companies that embrace AI may get a competitive edge while those that don't risk extinction. AI is nascent, but the pace of innovation and disruptive potential of startups will accelerate as computing costs shrink and machine-learning algorithms advance. The ability to self-learn by processing data may spur demand among consumers and enterprises alike. Cloud computing and machine-learning algorithms have fueled the jump in AI, keeping costs in check while helping applications interpret an ever-growing mountain of data. The tools can process an enormous volume of data, run self-learning algorithms and suggest ways that companies can better understand their customers and boost return on investment.

According to a study by Oxford University and Deloitte in 2015, accountants will be among the first professions affected by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Up to 95 percent of accountants will face some threat due to the advanced automation capabilities provided by AI. While this is categorized initially as a "threat," it also opens the door to a new kind of accountant. The modern accountant does much more than crunch numbers. In fact, in the future, AI might do most of the number-crunching.

What comes through strongly from all the analysis we've carried out for this report is just how big a game changer AI is likely to be, and how much value potential is up for grabs. AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion1 to the global economy in 2030, more than the current output of China and India combined. Of this, $6.6 trillion is likely to come from increased productivity and $9.1 trillion is likely to come from consumption-side effects. While some markets, sectors and individual businesses are more advanced than others, AI is still at a very early stage of development overall. From a macroeconomic point of view, there are therefore opportunities for emerging markets to leapfrog more developed counterparts.

CEOs see the potential--and the risks. Our strategist's guide and responsible AI framework can set companies on the right path. As machines continue to assume many of the tasks that once depended on human agency--such as driving a car or making a decision--we find ourselves looking toward a future in which nearly all technology applications will likely incorporate some form of artificial intelligence (AI). It has already changed the trajectory of scientific research, enabling new creative and technological milestones. At the same time, the rapid advancement of AI technologies has raised fundamental questions about social values and the potential unintended consequences of AI.

Artificial Intelligence, as a true change agent, is coming, and in many ways, its early rumblings are already being felt. It's clear that some people will eagerly adopt and integrate the new tools and ways of working it makes possible, while others will be more cautious or even oppose the changes it brings to their life or work. AI is poised to have a transformative effect on consumer, enterprise, and government markets around the world. While there are certainly obstacles to overcome, consumers believe that AI has the potential to assist in medical breakthroughs, democratise costly services, elevate poor customer service, and free up an overburdened workforce. Some tech optimists believe AI could create a world where human abilities are amplified as machines help mankind process, analyse, and evaluate the abundance of data that creates today's world, allowing humans to spend more time engaged in high-level thinking, creativity, and decision-making workforce.

William Bao Bean, general partner at early stage venture capital firm SOSV, said at a panel at the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology that significant sums of money were flowing into AI. "So the last 15 years, entrepreneurs and [venture capitalists], like us, have been investing in companies that solve basic problems," he said, adding most of the problems today are solved "pretty well" in the country. Currently, China is a "lot more like the U.S., where, in order to make an impact, you have to have a revolution in tech," Bao Bean said. Global consulting firm KPMG said in January that China set a record high in terms of VC investments in 2016, despite a global slowdown in the field. The firm said the strong performance was expected to continue as AI becoming a stronger focus for investors.

Accenture published a report, entitled the 2017 Technology Vision, which studied how artificial intelligence might effect banks going forward. Over 600 of the world's foremost bankers were surveyed and asked a series of questions about the new technology and how it'll change the way banks operate internally and how they handle their customers externally. According to the report, three quarters of the bankers surveyed, four out of five to be exact, believe that AI will become the primary way banks interact with their customers. This is in relation to customer service, and these bankers see AI technologies such as chatbots becoming increasingly essential for banks in the not-so-distant future. Experts and academics in the technology industry were also among the individuals surveyed, which demonstrates how thorough Accenture's study into the effects of artificial intelligence on the financial sector was.

Companies are using robots in more places than factories. Many are looking for ways to use robotics to be more efficient. Boards should understand if their company plans to use robotics and how this technology might impact the company's strategy.

Will pessimistic predictions of the rise of the robots come true? Will humans be made redundant by artificial intelligence (AI) and robots, unable to find work and left to face a future defined by an absence of jobs? Or will the optimists be right? Will historical norms reassert themselves and technology create more jobs than it destroys, resulting in new occupations that require new skills and knowledge and new ways of working? The debate will undoubtedly continue for some time. But both views have been founded on a traditional conception of work as a collection of specialized tasks and activities performed mostly by humans. As AI becomes more capable and automates an ever-increasing proportion of these tasks, is it now time to consider a third path? Might AI enable work itself to be reconstructed? It is possible that the most effective use of AI is not simply as a means to automate more tasks, but as an enabler to achieve higher-level goals, to create more value. The advent of AI makes it possible--indeed, desirable--to reconceptualize work, not as a set of discrete tasks laid end to end in a predefined process, but as a collaborative problem-solving effort where humans define the problems, machines help find the solutions, and humans verify the acceptability of those solutions.

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