Tired of waiting on hold? Telstra thinks this might fix that problem

Telstra is spending $700 million over seven years in the joint venture, 60 per cent of which is owned by Accenture. Telstra will get to keep the data and the strategy that’s developed and it doesn’t have plans to sell AI features or services to consumers.

The AI hub is also an important test case for Accenture, which partnered with Nvidia to create an AI platform that works with any cloud service and will be first put to use for Telstra. The platform will let Telstra use AI to crunch all the data (from customers and the wider industry) coming in from its network and then use it to improve all aspects of its business.

“I always believe that for the front office to be simple, elegant and seamless, the back office is generally pretty hardcore and messy. A lot of machines turning. It’s like the outside kitchen versus the inside kitchen,” said Karthik Narain, Accenture’s chief technology officer.

“We need a robust inside kitchen for the outside kitchen to look pretty. So that’s what we are trying to do with this hub. This is not just a showcase demo office. This is where the real stuff happens.”

The wave of rapid AI evolution has put Silicon Valley back in the spotlight in a way reminiscent of the original microprocessor boom or the rise of social media and mobile internet two decades ago.

The training of new AI models, the development of systems to implement them, and all the software and tooling needed to package them for consumers have largely come from Californian big tech and academia. With Australia so geographically removed, the hub strategy pursued by Telstra has been recognised by analysts as a shrewd move.

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It also highlights the need for a provider of critical infrastructure, such as Telstra, to maintain its systems. Integrating AI directly from a foreign company could present unwanted complications, especially when the face of regulation and security in that country is changing so rapidly.

Already this year, US President Donald Trump has torn up rules obliging American AI companies to observe certain guardrails on privacy and safety.

Krogh Andersen didn’t comment on Trump specifically, but said Australian sovereignty over its data and systems remained paramount.

“Your ability to maintain your independence will increase if you increase your own capabilities. But that doesn’t mean you can’t work with partners and ecosystems,” he said.

”We work with Microsoft and AWS and the US today but the data, we own ourselves, and it’s very important for us that we don’t give that to anyone. We use the technology and we rely on the ecosystem, but we need to ensure we do that in a responsible way, and in a way where we protect our own customers.”

Asked whether the focus on AI would result in a decreased need for human workforce at Telstra – which last year made thousands of workers redundant, partly in the name of improved efficiency – Krogh Andersen said “not necessarily”.

Telstra employees were being provided the opportunity to increase their skills into the kinds of roles that will be required in a more AI-forward workplace.

“We ensure that any subject-matter experts get the ability to differentiate themselves, applying AI to their subject matter expertise,” he said.

“This will change the way we do things, and we will reinvent ourselves.”

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