Wipro chairman says the company puts 'human interaction' at the core of AI development
 "AI will reshape industries and become the 'foundation' of business strategies: Rishad Premji")
Shivani Shinde Mumbai
Artificial intelligence (AI) is an opportunity for industries and its adoption requires strong “change management”, Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji has said, enumerating how information technology companies are preparing for and “disrupting” themselves towards AI technology.
While fiscal 2024 has been a tough year, “the fundamentals of our business have not changed,” he said at the company's 78th annual general meeting, which is being held online.
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“Our change management approach is focused on putting human interaction at the core of AI development. This human-centric approach helps close gaps, build trust and unlock AI's full potential,” he said.
“As we all know, there has been a sea change in how companies view AI, and generative AI (GenAI) in particular. What was once a curiosity has now become the foundation of a long-term strategy for creating value.”
AI is an opportunity to reshape industries, reimagine experiences, drive efficiencies and spur innovation. “Our goal is to lead this transformation not only with our clients but also within our own company.”
Wipro is investing in enhancing its AI tools and services while experimenting and adopting the technology within its operations.
“We have intentionally acted as client zero for our AI solutions and have transformed ourselves in the process. We have leveraged our in-house talent to build GenAI-based solutions to streamline internal processes, create delightful experiences, and improve productivity across the organization. For example, WiNow, our AI-powered self-service enterprise chat bot, is used by almost every employee and handles approximately 6.5 million queries.”
Last year, the company announced its investment in the ai360 strategy. The company has provided basic training in GenAI to more than 225,000 employees, and another 30,000 employees are undergoing advanced training for their roles. Premji also underwent the basic training in GenAI.
Wipro has expanded strategic partnerships with AI leaders such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon and NVIDIA, and has also launched its own AI platform through its innovation arm, Lab45.
“Our industry and consulting-led AI solutions are seeing early results with our clients: better patient outcomes in healthcare; enhanced financial advisor recommendations; improved cost and operational efficiencies in life sciences and transportation. We've seen many successful client engagements to date and plan to add more in the future.”
Commenting on the company's performance and the macro environment, Premji said: “While discretionary spend was subdued in the first half of the year, we are seeing signs of improvement in the consulting business in the second half, which is a positive early indicator.”
“Global economic volatility over the past year has impacted our customers' technology spending and created uncertainty in market demand. However, despite these challenges, the fundamentals of our business have not changed and we remain fully committed to investing for the future,” Premji said about the company's challenges for FY24.
