Technology Innovation

Human + Machine (#HplusM)

Reimagining work in the age of AI

Buy now

Order your copy of Human + Machine at any of these sellers. All proceeds donated to nonprofits.

Available languages

Human + Machine is available in six different languages.

AI is radically transforming business. Are you ready?

Look around you. Artificial Intelligence is no longer just a futuristic notion, it's here right now—such as software that senses what we need, supply chains that "think" in real time, and robots that respond to changes in their environment. 21st 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. Which side are you on?

In Human + Machine, Accenture leaders Paul Daugherty and Jim Wilson show that the essence of the AI paradigm shift is the transformation of all business processes within an organization—whether related to breakthrough innovation, everyday customer service, or personal productivity habits. As humans and smart machines collaborate ever more closely, work processes become more fluid and adaptive, enabling companies to change them on the fly—or to completely reimagine them. AI is changing all the rules of how companies operate.

View Transcript

Management playbook for success in age of AI

Based on the authors' experience and new research with 1,500 organizations, the book reveals how companies are using the new rules of AI to leap ahead on innovation and profitability, as well as what you can do to achieve similar results. It describes six entirely new types of hybrid human + machine roles that every company must develop, and it includes a "leader's guide" with the five crucial principles required to become an AI-fueled business.

These insights have been gleaned from Accenture's experience in bringing together the power of Artificial Intelligence with—our deep industry, analytics and technology expertise to help our clients get real business value from these new technologies—now. Accenture Applied Intelligence helps clients transform every facet of their business through Artificial Intelligence—to become an Intelligent Enterprise—from ideation to industrialization.

Human + Machine provides the missing and much-needed management playbook for success in our new age of AI.

Human + Machine collaboration

Paul Daugherty interview at Alan Turing Institute

With Claire Munn, CEO, Boxspring Entertainment

WATCH

Jim Wilson on Human + Machine

Jim Wilson presentation at Tatarklubben

WATCH

Unleash the collaborative potential

View Transcript

All book proceeds donated to non-profits

Human + Machine outlines the opportunities and challenges for executives, workers, and students in the Age of AI. Along with its great promise, AI will also cause disruption to certain professions, and many people will need education, training and support to prepare for newly created jobs as well as jobs that are transformed. To support this need, the authors are donating the royalties received from the sale of this book to fund education and retraining programs focused on developing fusion skills for the age of artificial intelligence.

What leaders are saying

“Human + Machine shines new light on our burning need to reinvent nearly everything about the way we work. Daugherty and Wilson have hands-on experience leading these changes, giving this book an exceptional level of credibility and insight. Have your whole team read it before your competitors do!”

Erik Brynjolfsson
Director, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy

“Daugherty and Wilson give a blueprint for a future in which AI augments our humanity... the book is a practical guide to understanding AI—what it means in our lives and how we can make the most of it.”

Arianna Huffington
Founder and CEO, Thrive Global

“Human + Machine stands out as the missing manual that leaders need for AI-driven innovation in today’s winner-take-all world.”

R “Ray” Wang
Principal Analyst, Founder, and Chairman, Constellation Research

“Daugherty and Wilson answer the fundamental question, how do we help our workforce transition into the age of AI? Without question, Human + Machine is the handbook you need to move forward.”

Henning Kagermann
President, acatech; Former Chairman and CEO, SAP

“Human + Machine is a well-written and well-researched book that addresses the missing middle of AI: how humans and machines can collaborate so as to augment—not replace—human skills. From the manufacturing floor to the back office to the individual, Paul and James offer wonderfully approachable and actionable insight into the changing nature of work.”

Grady Booch
Chief Scientist for Software Engineering IBM Research; IBM Fellow

“There is no doubt that AI is transforming business. In Human + Machine we are provided a sense of how, where, and most important, what to do about it. The book’s sample of 1,500 practitioners provides insights that go way beyond individual anecdotal applications. A must-read for today’s manager!”

Len Schlesinger
Baker Foundation Professor, Harvard Business School; Former Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer, Limited Brands (now L Brands)

“A must-read for business managers who know AI should be a big part of their job but find the topic intimidating and confusing.”

Missy Cummings
Professor, Pratt School of Engineering; Director, Humans and Autonomy Laboratory, Duke University

“In Human + Machine, Daugherty and Wilson have published a crucial perspective on the future of work, illuminating the human-machine relationship in a way that will help us all better understand, discuss, and shape our AI future.”

Terah Lyons
Founding Executive Director, Partnership on AI; Former advisor, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

View All

About Paul

Paul Daugherty is Accenture’s Group Chief Executive – Technology & Chief Technology Officer. He oversees all aspects of developing and delivering Technology’s capabilities, bringing innovation, intelligence, and deep industry experience together with leading technologies from ecosystem partners to help clients reinvent their businesses as intelligent enterprises and innovate at scale.

As chief technology officer, Paul is responsible for driving innovation through research and development (R&D) activities in Accenture Labs and leveraging emerging technologies to bring the newest innovations to clients globally. He founded and oversees Accenture Ventures, which is focused on strategic equity investments and open innovation to accelerate growth. Paul is responsible for managing Accenture’s alliances, partnerships and senior-level relationships with leading and emerging technology companies. He is also a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee.

About Jim

H. James Wilson is global managing director of IT and Business Research at Accenture, where he leads research programs on the impact of technology on work. Wilson is co-author of the best-selling, Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI (HBR Press, 2018). He is author or contributing author of twelve books on the impact of technology on work and society, including most recently, AI, Analytics, & The New Machine Age (HBR Press 2019) and How AI is Transforming the Organization (MIT Press 2020).

Wilson wrote “The Jobs Artificial Intelligence Will Create,” MIT Sloan Management Review’s #1 Most-Read article of the year, and is a longtime contributor to The Wall Street Journal and HBR. His latest HBR articles are “The Future of AI Will Be About Less Data, Not More” and “Small Data Can Play a Big Role in AI.”

In the news

Small data can play a big role in AI

Harvard Business Review bylined article discusses capturing the human dimensions of data’s impactful role in AI.

Read more

Creating the symbiotic AI workforce of the future

MIT Sloan Management Review bylined article demonstrates how leaders can reimagine processes to create greater business value.

Read more

Robots aren’t coming to steal your job. They’re coming to improve it

Impact Lab highlights technology’s impact in complementing and augmenting human capabilities, not replacing them.

Read more

Accenture’s chief technology officer on how artificial intelligence is changing work

In an interview with Yahoo Finance’s Scott Gamm, Paul Daugherty details several skills that are necessary to stay competitive as AI shapes the workforce.

Read more

Embedding AI in your business

Paul Daugherty joins HBR’s Azeem Azhar to discuss how AI can help businesses across a broad range of industries enhance the value they offer customers.

Listen

Using AI to make workers more effective

Harvard Business Review bylined article details how AI is opening up surprising new pathways for collaboration between workers and machines.

Read more

Buy now

Order your copy of Human + Machine at any of these sellers. All proceeds donated to nonprofits.

Subscription Center

Stay in the Know with Our Newsletter Stay in the Know with Our Newsletter