Deloitte is rolling out a new AI platform to its employees across Europe and the Middle East, which it hopes can help boost productivity by more rapidly producing materials such as emails and power point presentations. The firm is also offering the platform to disability charity Scope, in a bid to make AI technology “more inclusive”.
Deloitte has rolled out a generative artificial intelligence chatbot to 75,000 employees across Europe and the Middle East. The PairD platform can help write emails, code, and – that most infamous aspect of consulting life – create power point presentations. All of this means the technology is something which the Big Four firm hopes will boost productivity. PairD was first piloted in the UK in October 2023, with the country’s consulting sector collectively rushing to respond to hype around AI.
However, as the technology remains new – and debates around the accuracy of AI-generated content continue to rage – Deloitte is understood to have cautioned staff that the new tool may produce inaccurate information about people, places and facts. As Deloitte looks to roll out the service across Europe and the Middle East, a source close to the story told the Financial Times that users have been told to perform their own due diligence and quality assurance to validate the “accuracy and completeness” of the chatbot’s output. Employees are also required to complete a training module before they can access the tool.
Something which makes PairD unique in the consulting sector, is that while many of Deloitte’s rivals have teamed up with major market players such asChatGPT maker OpenAI and Harvey, the firm’s AI chatbot was developed internally. The firm’s AI institute has built it, as the firm invests heavily in the continued AI gold-rush.
Costi Perricos, generative AI leader at Deloitte, commented, “[PairD is] part of Deloitte’s long-term AI investment plans, as we continue to explore the potential that this technology could offer our firm, our clients and wider society. A key focus for employers should be on how to use these new tools safely, so that they can be applied correctly and create value.”
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Deloitte is already looking to support clients with the technology, too. According to the firm, UK disability charity Scope has already received free access to PairD. Scope’s 800 employees have started to use it from the turn of the year, in an initiative which includes teach-ins and ongoing support from Deloitte, with a particular focus on understanding the barriers for those who are not digitally native and have disabilities.
Mark Hodgkinson, CEO of Scope, remarked, “Nearly one-in-four people in the UK are disabled, and we have to work together to build a society which is more inclusive and fair for all. Disabled people are often an afterthought in technological advancements, which is why we are pleased to be working with Deloitte to remove these barriers. It’s important that technology is used as a force for good for everyone and we know AI can be a great enabler for disabled people.”
Deloitte also hopes this is the first step in “making access to AI more inclusive”, with plans to take learnings from the work with Scope and help other charities in a similar way. Since January 2021, Deloitte has also donated over 12,000 laptops to schools, charities and refugee groups to help tackle the digital skills gap and support people to overcome barriers to education and employment.
Richard Houston, CEO of Deloitte UK and Deloitte NSE, added, “Generative AI should be available and accessible to everyone and businesses like ours must ensure that the adoption of AI promotes social equality rather than exacerbating existing disparities. But it’s not only about access to technology – it’s access to the skills to use it that will really create opportunity to help close the digital divide. We want to increase the accessibility of our AI platform and help Scope make full use of PairD to benefit the charity and the people they support.”
