McKinsey’s A.I. Chief Discusses ChatGPT’s Impact on Consulting Jobs

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McKinsey’s A.I. Chief Discusses ChatGPT’s Impact on Consulting Jobs

McKinsey's A.I. chief Alex Singla: 'Problem-solving, creativity and change management' aren't replaced by technology.

By Sissi Cao • 06/07/23 1:36pm

Artificial intelligence is taking human jobs. Just last month, A.I. eliminated about 4,000 jobs in the U.S., according to a June 1 report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. As the generative A.I. phenomenon spreads, it is only a matter of time before the technology replaces management consultants, the archetypal white-collar job of data analysis, information summarizing and PowerPoint-making. The things that A.I. tools like ChatGPT can do.

Large consulting firms are embracing the technology and adjusting their expectations for talent in the post-ChatGPT era. At McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s largest management consulting firms, about half of its 30,000 employees now use ChatGPT or similar tools in their work, said Ben Ellencweig, a senior partner at McKinsey, at a company event yesterday (June 6) in New York.

Generative A.I. is drastically changing the day-to-day activities of management consultants, especially at the entry-level. At McKinsey, a junior consultant’s first day typically entails what the firm calls “know,” or reading pages and pages of non-confidential information to learn about a certain industry or sector the firm serves.

“When I started at the firm, I’d spend an entire weekend just getting swamped reading document after document. Now A.I. models can synthesize the 10 key things you need to know within minutes. That’s a major, major shift,” Alex Singla, a senior partner at McKinsey and the global leader of QuantumBlack, the firm’s A.I. consulting branch, told Observer in an interview at yesterday’s event. Singla has been with the firm since 2000. He currently oversees more than 1,300 analytics experts across McKinsey under the QuantumBlack umbrella. ... .'    (read more at the link)