With AI making content production more efficient, marketers can focus on creating human connections with audiences. There's little disagreement that AI and other cognitive technologies hold tremendous potential to bring speed and precision to the content supply chain. For many marketers, however, the question remains: How can brands gain those efficiencies without losing the human insights and empathy that are so critical to effective campaigns? "AI can do a tremendous job at automating the long tail of content and creative production," says Alan Schulman, chief creative officer for customer & marketing with Deloitte Consulting LLP, pointing to tasks such as distributing content at scale and customizing it in multiple languages. "That enables marketers to focus on the ideation and creation process--on finding the fundamental truth that is going to resonate with audiences. That's where the heart and feeling is, and it's still very much a human process."

This ebook, based on the latest ZDNet / TechRepublic special feature, looks at the outlook for business leaders in 2020 and where they are spending their tech dollars. Companies that fail to scale innovation may lose up to $20 billion in revenue over the next five years as enterprises thrive or dive based on information technology decisions, according to Accenture. Accenture's report was based on a survey of more than 8,300 companies across 20 industries and 22 countries. Accenture scored companies on technology adoption, depth of technology adoption and cultural readiness. From there, Accenture segmented companies into leaders, defined as the top 10%, and laggards, which represent the bottom 25%.

In this environment, staying competitive begins with a clear view of the AI landscape: where do some of the world's largest and most influential companies stand in terms of AI investment, deployment, and real-world outcomes? We conducted the KPMG 2019 Enterprise AI Adoption Study to gain insight into the state of AI and automation deployment efforts at select large cap companies. This involved in-depth interviews with senior leaders at 30 of the world's largest companies, as well as secondary research on job postings and media coverage. These 30 highly influential, Global 500 companies represent significant global economic value – collectively, they employ approximately 6.2 million people, with aggregate revenues of $3 trillion. Together, they also represent a significant component of the AI market.

A balanced strategy can be critical to realizing the benefits of AI technologies, according to a global survey of early AI adopters. Nobody likes to be left behind when the next big thing comes along, and business leaders are no exception. With AI widely seen as helping to drive a major economic expansion, a fear of missing out is spreading among many organizations worldwide. A number of businesses are rushing to advance their AI capabilities through investment and talent development, and several governments have set up formal AI frameworks to help spur economic and technological growth. As Deloitte's annual State of AI in the Enterprise survey¹ shows, AI technology will likely exert an enormous effect on economic development and the nature of work--and it's already transforming early-adopter companies.

Deloitte is a strong advocate of transparency and responsibility in AI: AI that has been thoroughly tested, that is explainable to customers and employees, and that has all the ethical considerations in place. This publication explores our vision on transparent and responsible AI. We also present four propositions that we have developed around the topic. With them, we hope to contribute to a movement to use AI for good. This is the moment to ensure that AI models are built the right way.

Human resources leaders have an idea that artificial intelligence and machine learning tools are going to transform the way they use their HR management systems. They are right, in theory. For years HRMS vendors have been talking about the promise of AI and machine learning and how these tools will soon behave more like Netflix and Amazon, and customers are excited. "They want an individualized experience based on who they are, what they prefer, and what people in similar roles have done," said David Ludlow, group vice president of SAP SuccessFactors. They also want predictive analytics that will help HR leaders attract and retain a more effective and sustainable workforce, said Chris Havrilla, vice president of HR technology and solutions provider strategies at Bersin, Deloitte Consulting LLP.

CFOs are uniquely positioned to lead a broader organisational shift into digitization. They have insight into all business units and can help leaders from every area of the organisation understand the why of finance data, not just the what -- ultimately leading to smarter business decisions throughout the enterprise. Here's how CFOs can lead this change:

With the emergence of more informed and tech-savvy consumer base, retailers are increasingly replacing the traditional mass-market approach with targeted strategies formed using insights driven from consumer data, said a report. According to a Deloitte India report, a trend called'Tribetailing' is picking pace, especially in the luxury segment in the country. This trend allows retailers to use artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and social media analytics to gain information about consumers' shopping history, behaviour, preferences, and online activities. This information, it said, is helping retailers to group consumers in categories and come up with bespoke solutions, and devise personalised marketing and promotional programmes such as membership and loyalty programmes and discounts to target niche consumer segments. "Consumer trends in India are evolving at a rapid pace with the advent of technology and with that the Indian consumer has evolved from a reactive entity to a proactive seeker of products and personalised experiences. This change needs retail brands to change the language of their engagement as the consumer now takes the driver's seat unlike brands telling the story to him/her," said Anil Talreja, partner, Deloitte India.

Here are the top news stories in talent & organization from this week. Female founders and women in business are changing the world, so it's time to drop words such as "mompreneurs" and "she-E-Os", argues Leigh Buchanan. "From a semantic viewpoint, the words or phrases express meanings antithetical to their intent. The word entrepreneur derives from the Old French: to undertake an enterprise. "As for she-E-O, the word being replaced is chief.

PWC Tech World reports that most e-commerce platforms are focused on sectors such as communication commerce, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) / augmented reality (AR) and analytics technologies New Delhi: Global auditing and consulting firm PWC says that e-commerce companies are focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality to reduce logistics costs and detect fraudulent orders. With a growing middle-class population of over 500 million and about 65% of the population aged 35 or under, India represents the most sought-after consumer market for retailers worldwide, according to a report by PWC Tech World. "E-commerce players are reinventing their technology strategies to stay competitive. Many e-commerce platforms are growing their investments in sectors such as communication commerce, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) / augmented reality (AR) and analytics technologies". E-commerce companies are investing heavily in robotics and AI to detect fraudulent orders, reduce revenue rates and reduce logistics costs.