report is what it calls DARQ Power. The acronym stands, loosely, for Distributed ledger technologies, such as those which underpin crypto currencies; Artificial intelligence; extended reality – an amalgam of virtual, augmented and mixed reality; plus quantum computing.Some combination of these deep-tech, fundamental research-based innovations will drive the post-digital opportunities of the future and they’re the next wave of technologies that organisations will need to master.
Quantum computing, while still at its early stages, is advancing rapidly. Accenture has already worked with clients in the biopharmaceutical sector which have used it for molecule matching work that would have been very difficult to solve with classical computing. “Human civilisation has evolved on the basis of the question ‘how do we use this new technology to improve our lives?’. The reality here too is that AI has the potential to create new industries, new jobs and new opportunities. It’s not a lack of new jobs that will be the problem, it’s the lack of skills,” he says. “We are not preparing people fast enough for the new jobs that are coming.”
The biggest skills shortages will not be tech skills, it will be people who understand the human context of tech developments. “Liberal arts graduates infused with tech awareness is where the biggest shortfalls of the future will be.” On the Human + Worker side, Accenture is leveraging virtual reality and artificial intelligence in its own graduate recruitment process. Applicants use virtual reality goggles to respond to real-life scenarios in a dynamic online environment.