Gen AI could add €148 billion to annual GDP by 2038 Accenture research finds
9th December 2024
Ireland is positioned to become a global leader in the Generative AI (gen AI) era, provided it capitalises on this transformative opportunity, a new report from Accenture has found. The technology has the potential to contribute up to €148 billion to Ireland’s annual GDP by 2038, representing a 22% increase over the baseline forecast. If leveraged effectively, gen AI could increase Ireland’s average annual GDP growth rate for 2023-2038 from the baseline of 2.5% to 3.9%, marking a remarkable 55% boost to the nation’s long-term growth trajectory.
The report, Generating Growth: How generative AI can power Ireland’s reinvention, also revealed a potential double-digit productivity uplift across the private and public sectors, based on the current capabilities of gen AI.
Sectors such as life sciences and financial services could see productivity gains of up to approximately 20% and 30%, respectively.
If the productivity benefits are fully harnessed as cost savings, the potential gains could be transformative. Across all industries analysed, total annual savings could amount to €22.2 billion if the full potential of today’s technology to automate and augment work is realised.
The public sector stands to benefit the most, with gen AI capable of enhancing 42% of working hours in the Irish public sector (excluding healthcare). This could deliver a productivity boost of up to 18%, translating into annual savings of €2.9 billion.
Hilary O’Meara, Country Managing Director, Accenture in Ireland, said: “Ireland stands at a pivotal moment in its AI journey, with the potential to add €148 billion to annual GDP by 2038.
Achieving this potential, however, will require collective action from the full ecosystem – government, business, and academia – to build an AI-skilled workforce and foster responsible innovation.
Given the remarkable pace at which gen AI is advancing and the size of the opportunity, we need to move quickly. Establishing a robust digital core, preparing the workforce and fostering a culture of continuous learning are essential and should be underscored by responsible principles to ensure data privacy, transparency, and fairness remain central in all implementations.
There is enormous opportunity here and by acting with urgency, Ireland can position itself at the forefront of AI-driven innovation and growth.”
Peter Burke, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said: “This report from Accenture is a timely and useful resource for business leaders in taking practical action and building trust in the responsible deployment of AI. The refresh of Ireland’s National AI Strategy published recently sets out our ambition to seize the opportunity of AI for our collective good.
We must keep evolving with technology, transforming how we do things and raising our productivity, in both our homegrown companies and foreign multinationals. That’s why we have targeted supports for adopting AI, for upskilling, training and research to ensure that businesses can be agile and ready to gain from this fast-moving technology.”
As well as the financial impact, the impact on how we work is significant.
In Ireland, seven in 10 workers could have at least a third of their working hours enabled by the technology, either through automation or augmentation.
On average, this could save employees 17% of the time they currently spend on routine tasks.
Without a people-centric approach that empowers workers to perform higher-value tasks – rather than simply automating existing processes – €96 billion in economic value could be left untapped by 2038.
The report identifies three factors which pose a risk to the realisation of that potential, but which can be overcome with the right steps taken:
•Deployment gap: Among those that have invested in the technology, 91% have yet to scale its use across their business. One in three organisations believe their cloud capabilities are insufficient to leverage gen AI, highlighting the need to accelerate the modernisation of their technological foundations.
•Skills gap: Despite the significant impact leaders expect gen AI to have on skills, the executives surveyed said that 64% of their workforces still require reskilling, equivalent to roughly 1.76 million people.
Alarmingly, less than half (45%) of Irish executives report that their workforces are confident in their digital skills to leverage this technology.
•Trust gap: Trust that government (38%) or business leaders (45%) will make the right decisions to ensure gen AI has a positive impact on Ireland continues to lag, but there is a clear opportunity to close that gap. By ensuring gen AI is deployed responsibly and bringing Ireland’s workforce on the journey through investment in upskilling, government and businesses have a vast opportunity to build trust and understanding about the potential gains.
Call to action for business to lead the way on gen AI
To reap the benefits from gen AI, Accenture has identified five clear steps business leaders and governments must take:
•Lead with value: Shift the focus from siloed use of gen AI to integration across the entire value chain and developing new, AI-enabled offerings.
•Understand and develop an AI-enabled, secure digital core: Invest in technology that runs seamlessly and allows for continuous creation of new capabilities.
•Reinvent talent and ways of working: Set and guide a vision for how to reinvent work, reshape the workforce and prepare workers for a gen AI world.
•Close the gap on responsible AI: Design, deploy and use AI to drive value while mitigating risks.
•Drive continuous reinvention: Make the ability to change a core competency and part of company culture supported by an ecosystem of collaborators.
Pictured: Hilary O’Meara, Country Managing Director, Accenture in Ireland.
