Artificial intelligence (AI) is all about augmenting human capabilities rather than replacing humans with machines, says global IT consultancy firm Accenture in a new book. Titled "Human Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI", the book is co-authored by Paul Daugherty, Accenture's Chief Technology and Innovation officer, and Jim Wilson, Managing Director of Information Technology and Business Research. The authors, who claim to have surveyed more than 1,500 organisations, strongly dismiss what they call a'misconception' that AI systems will replace humans, stating that they should be viewed as a resource to help companies reshape their operations, whether that be in customer service or productivity. While AI is resulting in some jobs being lost, the technology's true power is in augmenting human capabilities, they argue. "In other words, AI isn't about making'artificial' super-humans – but about using technology to give humans'superpowers,' equipping them with new skills and capabilities so that they can achieve more and learn faster," said Daugherty.

When I attend customer engagement and industry events, I inevitably field lots of questions that are close to the heart of a data scientist. Many executives are confused by the concepts of machine learning, deep learning, memory-based learning, and artificial intelligence. They wonder about the differences in these technologies, how everything fits together, and what they need to pay attention to. They wonder whether they need all of it or just some of it, and what they need to do to get started. And, yes, I hear people ask whether the ultimate goal is to replace humans with computers.

When I attend customer engagement and industry events, I inevitably field lots of questions that are close to the heart of a data scientist. Many executives are confused by the concepts of machine learning, deep learning, memory-based learning, and artificial intelligence. They wonder about the differences in these technologies, how everything fits together, and what they need to pay attention to. They wonder whether they need all of it or just some of it, and what they need to do to get started. And, yes, I hear people ask whether the ultimate goal is to replace humans with computers.