Deloitte brings its Artificial Intelligence Institute to China
China is now among five key markets across the world to house a Deloitte AI Institute centre, following an expansion drive by the Big Four accounting and advisory firm.
Deloitte AI Institute was launched in the US in June, as an epicentre for artificial intelligence innovation. The institute’s goal is to break down the current barriers to AI adoption across the world; build a global ecosystem for the collaborative advancement of AI; and work with governments and academic institutions to explore the ethical debates around AI.
Four months after its US launch, the Deloitte AI Institute has now expanded to four other key markets – the UK, Germany, Canada and China. Leading the charge globally is Executive Director Beena Ammanath, under the sponsorship of Deloitte’s Global Analytics & Cognitive Leader Costi Perricos.
“Our new Institute nodes in Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and China, allow for exponentially greater access to the most talented and diverse industry thought leaders and academic luminaries; start-ups; research and development groups; entrepreneurs; investors; and innovators. This will help our clients harness the power of AI in their organisation and lead in the age of humans with machines,” explained Perricos.
Leading the institute in China is Joseph Chu, Chief Digital Officer at Deloitte China – a position he will continue to hold alongside his new responsibilities. According to Chu, the new institute will help China unlock some of the tremendous value that AI can bring from an economic perspective.
“The launch of Deloitte AI Institute in China will bring the best AI practices in in the world to China, and vice versa,” he said. “It will make full use of Deloitte's advanced AI experience globally, and explore broader application scenarios in more markets, so as to provide better services to our clients.”
Despite a drive to become a global tech leader, China’s artificial intelligence adoption and innovation leadership has lagged behind other key markets such as Japan, the US and the UK, among others. As AI takes centre stage in the global innovation landscape, Chinese tech giants have according to Boston Consulting Group fallen somewhat out of favour for their lack of AI expertise and investment.
Connecting with a global network of AI experts will help overcome some of these challenges. For now, the network extends across four other major markets, although sources at the firm told Consultancy.org that another five AI centres are expected to come up around the world in the coming months – significantly expanding the network of expertise on offer.
“With our unique experience, investments in AI and work with top organisations, we believe the Deloitte AI Institute can ignite ground-breaking applied AI solutions for enterprises,” said Ammanath.