Accenture Exec: Workers Need To Get Their Hands On AI Now Or Risk Falling Behind

Diana Blass

June 07, 2018, 05:51 PM EDT

In the coming years, artificial intelligence will be nearly everywhere.

AI-powered robots are expected to be able to drive a truck by 2027, work in retail by 2031, write a best-selling book by 2049 -- and even work as a surgeon come 2053.

James Wilson, Accenture's managing director of information technology and business research, says workers shouldn’t wait in becoming trained in AI, telling CRNtv that employers can play a role in democratizing the technology.

’Everyone in sales or in a maintenance team should be able to use AI. We are starting to see the development of almost point-and-click tools, like Microsoft-type tools, where you can go on your desktop or mobile app and launch an AI tool and all of a sudden you are empowered to use regression analysis, cluster analysis or classification and anomaly detection. But that’s something anyone can do,’ he said.