About Paul
PAUL DAUGHERTY is a leading authority on the technology innovations shaping the future of business and society. In his role as Accenture’s Group Chief Executive – Technology and Chief Technology Officer, Paul predicts the future, sets Accenture’s technology strategy and directs its technology research and development, ventures and ecosystem relationships to incubate the next wave of technology businesses. As the founder of Accenture’s businesses in Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and other emerging technologies, Paul advises the world’s top business and technology leaders on how to apply technology to reimagine and reinvent their organizations’ futures.
Paul studied computer engineering at the University of Michigan in the early 1980s, and became hooked on AI when he took a course with Douglas Hofstadter on cognitive science and psychology. Since then, he has spearheaded pioneering research, including research on the AI and the Future of Economic Growth and Accenture’s annual trends report, Accenture Technology Vision.
Most recently, Paul co-authored Human + Machine, a seminal book providing a much-needed management playbook to the business of AI. Human + Machine which has been praised by Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft), Arianna Huffington (CEO of Thrive Global), Marc Benioff (Chairman and CEO of Salesforce), Doug McMillon (President and CEO of Walmart), and many more.
A frequent speaker and writer on the future of technology innovation and its implications for business and society, Paul is regularly featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Financial Times, The Economist, MIT Sloan Management Review, Forbes, Fast Company, USA Today, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Cheddar financial news network, Bloomberg Television, Fox Business and CNBC. In 2019, Paul was named to Retail Week’s Tech 100, a list of the most influential leaders shaping the future of commerce through technology and digital innovation. He accepted the FASPE Award for Ethical Leadership in 2019 for Accenture’s work in applying ethical principles to the development and use of artificial intelligence and other innovative 21st century technologies.He was named as one of Computerworld’s Premier 100 Technology Leaders for 2017 for his extraordinary technology leadership.
Paul is a passionate advocate for equal opportunity, inclusion, and diversity in technology. He serves on the board of directors of Girls Who Code and is a strong advocate and sponsor of Code.org. He was also recognized with an Institute for Women’s Leadership award, honoring business leaders who have supported diversity in the workplace and the advancement of women.
In addition, Paul served as chairman of the board of Avanade, is on the board of trustees of the Computer History Museum, and is on the advisory board for Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan.
Paul lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, with his wife.
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Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI
(Harvard Business Review Press, March 2018)
“A must-read for managers who know AI should be a big part of their job.”
–Missy Cummings, Director, Humans and Autonomy Laboratory, Duke
AI is radically transforming business. Are you ready?
Artificial intelligence is no longer just a futuristic notion. It’s here right now–in software that senses what we need, supply chains that “think” in real time, and robots that respond to changes in their environment. Twenty-first-century pioneer companies are already using AI to innovate and grow fast.
The bottom line is this: Businesses that understand how to harness AI can surge ahead. Those that neglect it will fall behind. Daugherty and coauthor Wilson how you the way forward.
