Accenture Launches New AI Teaching and Testing Services

2018 is projected to be the year of AI, according to Microsoft. Enterprises of all sizes are introducing machine learning. Accenture has launched a new service to supplement the implementation of AI. This is a testing service to help companies build, monitor, and measure reliable AI systems within the cloud or in-house infrastructures. They have called it their “Teach and Test” method.

The “Teach” stage of their method focuses on the choice of data, models, and algorithms that are used to train machine learning. It does this through experiments and statistically evaluates different models to select the best performing model. This is accomplished without bias, which has become a problem for AI in the past.

During the “Test” phase, the AI is assessed to determine if it can explain how a decision or outcome was determined. This sounds like an Isaac Asimov idea, but the technology is here. This phase monitors the behavior of the system for sustained performance.

Traditional application testing methods aren’t relevant when looking at machine learning software. Application testing is limited in its scope of tests. It can do some simple tests, but machine learning tests need to account for more possibilities. Machine learning can go in limitless directions and the testing needs to do so as well.

Bhaskar Ghosh, Group Chief Executive of Accenture Technology Services, stated, “As organizations embrace AI, it is critical to find better ways to train and sustain these systems securely and with quality.”

Accenture’s Technology Vision 2018 report suggests that AI learning needs to be addressed in a similar way to human education. The teaching focuses on: “fostering an understanding of right and wrong, and what it means to behave responsibly; imparting knowledge without bias; and building self-reliance while emphasizing the importance of collaborating and communicating with others.”

“Accenture AI Testing is part of a complete range of testing services that helps quality engineering professionals be a catalyst for speed, agility and business performance while achieving radical productivity…More information on the ”Teach and Test” methodology can be found here.”

We encourage you to read the full release.