CIOs contend with gen AI growing pains

“In practical terms, the AI Refinery is a cognitive architecture, with built-in intelligence and context, where AI agents can reason, plan, and work alongside humans to dynamically execute tasks,” Guan said. “Using LLMs, the system interprets human intentions and adapts based on experience, integrating organizational knowledge for better decision-making.”

Finally, CIOs must ensure they have a good stable of qualified AI personnel and a lineup of specialized skills for building and deploying gen AI models, she advised. Most CIOs are not upskilling or training employees fast enough, and the availability of a wide range of talents is thin, including data scientists and software engineers with GPU infrastructure planning skills. 

Guan herself was a data scientist at Accenture six years ago and started working on software engineering skills, application development skills, and infrastructure planning skills to prepare for gen AI. Finding talent is “a challenge that I am also facing,” Guan said.