seeing job roles being elevated as a result of AI (i.e. it will allow for employees to focus on more strategic rather than operative tasks) – 64 percent either “strongly” or “completely” agreed with this statement. They don’t see jobs being replaced by AI – they see them being elevated. “We believe AI will transform the relationship between people and technology,” says Athina Kanioura, Chief Data Scientist for Accenture Applied Intelligence. “The real excitement lies with new jobs on the horizon, such as ‘explainers’ who will be responsible for making AI explainable, or ‘trainers’ who will have responsibility for directing the development of AI systems so that they perform at a higher level.” Given the largely positive outlook from these leaders regarding AI’s impact on jobs, other survey findings take on more importance: Nearly 20 percent identify “resistance from employees due to concerns about job security” as a challenge to their AI efforts. Plus, 57 percent agree or strongly agree with the statement, “We are concerned about the impact of AI on employee relations (e.g. employees might feel threatened or overstrained).” So while business and technology leaders anticipate little threat to jobs from AI, many believe that their employees are worried – a concern that can be addressed in part by more education about AI and its real impact on the workplace. For some observers, these results speak to the need for more education in and about AI – fast. “We really need to be focused on opportunities for job creation, because that’s a bigger part of the AI story,” says Intel’s Melvin Greer. Then we can move on to practical considerations, such as the education, training and skills that will be required for people to fill those new jobs.” “ We believe AI will transform the relationship between people and technology. ” Athina Kanioura Chief Data Scientist for Accenture Applied Intelligence 19