Airbus SE is using artificial intelligence to squeeze cost out of its finance function, an experiment launched in the aircraft maker's Americas division that could save the corporation millions of dollars annually if rolled out in other regions. It's one of the latest examples of how companies across sectors are digitizing operations to increase efficiency, reduce human error and free up employees for tasks that require more human judgment, such as strategic planning, analysis and audits. "Companies can now automate highly repetitive activity at a lower cost with a higher degree of accuracy," said David Axson, head of the CFO consulting practice at Accenture Strategy, a unit of consulting firm Accenture PLC. "This especially applies to high-volume-use cases like accounts payable." Less than half of companies' accounts-payable activity worldwide is currently automated, Accenture Strategy says.

Failure to Scale Artificial Intelligence Could Put 75% of Organizations Out of Business, Accenture Study Shows Companies that shift from AI experimentation to execution achieve lasting ROI and competitive agility NEW YORK; Nov. 14, 2019 – Three-quarters of C-level executives believe if they don't move beyond experimentation to aggressively deploy artificial intelligence (AI) across their organizations they risk going out of business by 2025, according to a newly released study from Accenture (NYSE: ACN). The report, titled "AI: Built to Scale" and produced by Accenture Strategy and Accenture Applied Intelligence, is based on a global survey of 1,500 C-level executives across 16 industries designed to understand how companies are implementing AI across their organizations. The research found 84% of C-level executives believe they won't achieve their business strategy without scaling AI, yet only 16% have made the shift from mere experimentation to creating an organization powered by robust AI capabilities. As a result, this small group of top performers is achieving nearly three times the return from AI investments as their lower-performing counterparts. The report reveals the secret to success for these top performers centers around three key elements: a strong data foundation; multiple dedicated AI teams; and a C-suite-led commitment to strategic, organization-wide AI deployment.

This article is part of CMO.com's Industry Spotlight 2019 collection. Digital technology is advancing at breakneck speed--and it's putting pressure on businesses to produce new apps, tools, and technologies as they seek to compete in the digital economy. Not surprisingly, emerging technologies are at the center of this revolution. Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and the Internet of Things (IoT) are unleashing enormous changes. Ditto for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), chatbots, image and voice recognition, advanced GPS, and analytics.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to impact nearly every industry, and businesses that don't take immediate steps to upskill their workforces to collaborate with machines will miss out on revenue, according to a recent report from Accenture Strategy. If businesses invest in AI and human-machine collaboration at the same rate as top-performing companies, they could boost revenues by 38% by 2022, the report found, lifting profits by $4.8 trillion globally. These businesses could also raise employment levels by 10% in that timeframe. Business leaders are optimistic about the changes that AI can bring to their organization and workforce, according to the 1,200 senior executives surveyed for the report: 72% said that intelligent technology will be critical to their organization's market differentiation. Further, 61% said the share of roles requiring collaboration with AI will rise in the next three years. And 69% of the 14,000 workers surveyed said that it was important to develop skills to work with these intelligent systems.

You wouldn't think that articles on business and tech topics would make for the most beautiful music, but believe it or not, they were used by an artificial intelligence system and human composers to create an original symphony. It sounds like science fiction, but last week inside the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, a 50-piece orchestra performed "Symphonologie," a "symphonic experience" from Accenture Strategy, a business and technology consulting firm. The project aims to shed light on the tangible uses of this kind of artificial intelligence and its broad potential. "Initially, we talked about what could be a way for us to grab our clients and others in the business world? What would draw their attention? We wanted to show what's happening with digital and technology, and we thought about metaphors that cross cultures. We realized that music cuts straight through the list – there are so many different cultures and spoken languages around the world and we quickly went to music as something that transcends culture," Mark Knickrehm, group chief executive at Accenture Strategy, told CBS News. "The big question was how do you make music in the digital space using technology and artificial intelligence? It was quite creative to go from there. Words have real meaning, and they can make music."

You wouldn't think that articles on business and tech topics would make for the most beautiful music, but believe it or not, they were used by an artificial intelligence system and human composers to create an original symphony. It sounds like science fiction, but last week inside the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, a 50-piece orchestra performed "Symphonologie," a "symphonic experience" from Accenture Strategy, a business and technology consulting firm. The project aims to shed light on the tangible uses of this kind of artificial intelligence and its broad potential. "Initially, we talked about what could be a way for us to grab our clients and others in the business world? What would draw their attention? We wanted to show what's happening with digital and technology, and we thought about metaphors that cross cultures. We realized that music cuts straight through the list – there are so many different cultures and spoken languages around the world and we quickly went to music as something that transcends culture," Mark Knickrehm, group chief executive at Accenture Strategy, told CBS News. "The big question was how do you make music in the digital space using technology and artificial intelligence? It was quite creative to go from there. Words have real meaning, and they can make music."

What do a creative coder, a data visualist and an orchestra composer have in common? "Symphonologie: the Music of Business", which is described as a symphonic experience, was created by Accenture Strategy to combine human insight and artificial intelligence. The work had its debut inside the Louvre Pyramid in Paris on Tuesday, where it was performed by a 50-piece orchestra. The orchestral work harnessed algorithms that analyzed consumer sentiments on selected business topics, such as cyber security and the Internet of Things (IoT). The sentiments were then translated into melodic patterns that comprised the musical portion of the show.

Imagine the endless possibilities of learning from 2.5 quintillion bytes of data generated every day. Artificial intelligence (AI), which began its journey 60 years ago is well on its course to make this implausible scenario a reality. Artificial Intelligence, is slowly taking over our lives. From personal assistants like Siri in Apple products to stock trading to medical diagnosis, AI is able to learn from seemingly unstructured data, take decisions and perform actions in a way previously unimagined. Businesses too are undergoing digitization rapidly.

Intelligent machines inform better, faster decisions. They enable managers in insurance to shift their focus to activities that call for decidedly human traits such as complex thinking and higher-order reasoning. Providing guidance and recommendations, machines complement managers' expertise, experience and ethics, as well as their ability to experiment and innovate. The overwhelming majority of insurance managers believe machines will make them more effective and their work more interesting. However, the survey also revealed a lack of trust in machines among managers that might affect an organization's ability to make the most of cognitive computing.