World Economic Forum (WEF)

New Champions Dinner

Towards a Smart Future - Deloitte focuses on AI and the enterprise

On 2 July, Deloitte hosted the New Champions Dinner with around 80 clients and special guests, focusing on 'AI and the enterprise: responding to a new digital reality'.

Intelligence is at the core of Industry 4.0 and the integration of AI with machines is set to disrupt the world. In the foreseeable future—10 years or less—AI will reshape the competitive landscape in many industries, change people’s quality of life and attitudes, and even have a substantial impact on national security and international relations, not to mention the establishment of common standards.

Companies are committed to developing AI, yet numerous accompanying challenges and risks, such as data security and social responsibility, make it  a double-edged sword. AI can maximize organization's strength in innovation if applied properly, or result in serious damage when utilized the wrong way. The challenges AI brings to the economy, society and culture must be addressed while exploring the explosive growth of AI technologies.    

With these considerations in mind, Deloitte hosted a themed dinner focusing on the development of AI and risk responses at the WEF 2019 Annual Meeting of the New Champions.

Around 80 participants from Fortune Global 500 companies and leading innovative AI players exchanged their ideas about potential risks and prospects in AI. Deloitte's delegation consisted of Deloitte Global Chief Strategy Officer John Meacock, Deloitte Global Chief Innovation Officer Ragu Gurumurthy, Deloitte Asia Pacific Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Thierry Delmarcelle, Deloitte China Markets and Global Network National Leader and Deloitte Global Chinese Services Group Chairlady Rosa Yang, Deloitte China Innovation Leader and Eastern Region Managing Partner Dora Liu, Deloitte Belgium Cyber Risk Leader Chris Verdonck, and Deloitte China Brand and Communications Leader Lily Sheng.     

At the dinner, John Meacock, Zeroth Principal Bernise Ang, the Vice President of JD.com's Artificial Intelligence Platform and Research Zhou Bowen, Director of the HKUST Center for Artificial Intelligence Research Pascale Fung, and Ragu Gurumurthy held insightful conversations on the future of AI, covering the role of AI in city development and management; the impact of AI on industries, especially retail; regulating AI; and how business should promote AI plans. In addition, the speakers discussed the risks brought about by AI, including privacy, data security, ethical standards and corporate governance. The dinner was hosted by Deloitte China Innovation Leader and Eastern Region Managing Partner Dora Liu. 

It is commonly believed that AI development is like a marathon, requiring huge energy yet demonstrating tremendous opportunities from the very beginning. Although existing laws and regulations lag behind the technological progress of AI somewhat, this will certainly not impede its development.

There are many questions about AI development …

Should we work first to control the risks or to embrace the technology?

Will AI make more people jobless, or make completing tasks faster?

What ethics does it need?

How do we practice business and enforce the law?

There are no correct answers to these questions at this time, but raising the questions is a key step. As the world-renowned internet prophet and visionary Kevin Kelly suggests, "… our choice, so to speak, in technology, is really to align ourselves with this force much greater than ourselves. Technology is selfish; technology is generous. A better way—what I call proactive principle—is to engage with technology. You try it out. You obviously do what the precautionary principle suggests, you try to anticipate it; but after anticipating it, you constantly assess it, not just once, but eternally. And when it diverts from what you want, you prioritize risk, you evaluate not just the new stuff, but the old stuff. You fix it, but most importantly, we relocate it." In a word, we should drive the development of AI rather than be driven by it.

Towards a Smart Future with AI
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