Jobs of the future will require the ‘cognitive skills’ AI hasn’t mastered, says Accenture’s chief AI officer

I’m at Fortune Brainstorm AI in London this week, where attendees are getting a taste of the incredible array of activities that have been sparked by latest advances in data technology: AI creating videos, finishing Beethoven’s 10th Symphony, building winning sports teams, remaking finance and more. I moderated a panel on the future of work with Microsoft’s chief scientist Jaime Teevan and Accenture’s chief AI officer Lan Guan. (Accenture is our founding partner in Brainstorm AI.) Some excerpts:

“There are pretty much two ways that companies deal with disruptions. One is to drive efficiencies—to get really good at what they are doing. And the other is innovation—to figure out how to do new things. We are essentially seeing both of those. The efficiency thing is easier. But innovation is the real opportunity.”

—Jaime Teevan

“It’s my personal belief that skills that humans are really good at—things like communication skills, being empathetic, doing analytical thinking, structured thinking—these are the cognitive skills that AI is not doing quite well yet. So I think we need to have humans focus on these kinds of skills in their daily job.”

—Lan Guan

I also spoke with Guy Williams, who heads the U.K. defense business for Palantir, about the extraordinary attack on Israel last weekend in which more than 300 drones and missiles were shot down before hitting their targets. Williams said the defense sector has seen a sea change from “not even 10 years, but four year, even three years ago”:

“With the introduction of computer vision, we are able to take a two kilometer by five kilometer image and, within a second, identify all of the things you might be interested in, whether it is changed, whether there’s something that you recognize. Historically, that might have taken an analyst hours to get to that point.”

My fellow Fortune executives also took the stage to announce a new product we will be launching in June, built in partnership with Accenture, that allows Fortune reporters and eventually Fortune users to access our deep content and data insights using generative AI. You can read more about it here.

Separately, I wrote yesterday that this week and next I will be sharing quotes from CEOs about why Fortune remains relevant to them in today’s world. This is from GM CEO Mary Barra:

“The pace of change in today’s world has accelerated more than we could have imagined even five years ago, thanks to rapid developments in many forms of technology including AI. One thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of Fortune. Fortune is not only an essential source of today’s news but also a forecaster of future news and trends.” 

More news below.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com

TOP NEWS

TikTok’s links to China

Ex-TikTok employees tell Fortune that they continued to work with Chinese parent company ByteDance, even as TikTok tries to assure U.S. politicians that it operates independently. One senior data scientist said he shared U.S. user data with ByteDance workers in China, supposedly for insights into what types of videos were most popular in certain regions. The U.S. Senate is evaluating a bill that would ban TikTok if ByteDance doesn’t divest the platform. Fortune

Tesla’s slumping sales

Tesla’s share of the U.S. electric car market has shrunk to 51%, compared to 62% at the start of 2023, according to Kelley Blue Book. Tesla’s competitors, including legacy brands like Hyundai and Ford, are increasing their market shares, even as the overall EV sector slows down. On Monday, Tesla announced it would lay off 10% of its workforce. The New York Times

The ‘stingy economy’

China’s Gen Z consumers are looking to save money amid a slower economy and stubbornly high youth unemployment. Terms like the “stingy economy” are now buzzwords on Chinese social media, as young Chinese scour online platforms, like the Instagram-like Xiaohongshu, for deals. Another shift: Younger Chinese prefer buying domestic products, rather than foreign brands. Nikkei Asia

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

Most companies fail at making big changes because of these critical talent mistakes by Paige McGlauflin

Sky-high mortgage rates aren’t just crushing homebuyers: Nearly 8 in 10 sellers regret missing the hottest market in decades, survey shows by Alena Botros

Expert argues AI won’t lead to mass layoffs for workers anytime soon: ‘Look at when we were promised fully autonomous cars’ by Christiaan Hetzner

Lacking access to mainland Chinese investors, Hong Kong’s crypto ETFs will be ‘nickels and dimes’ compared with U.S. versions by Niamh Rowe

Commentary: America is mirroring China’s tech protectionism and reversing decades of free trade doctrine. Here’s why that’s bad news for U.S. leadership by Ed Brzytwa

Europe is falling behind in generative AI, with the U.S. light-years ahead. But the race is just getting started by Prarthana Prakash and Alex Wood Morton

This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.