In the mid-1990s, a supercomputer known as Deep Blue took on world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a series of historic matches that came to symbolise the emerging battle between human intelligence and machine capability. For many of us, these epic battles between man and machine were our first visible exposure to what we now call Artificial Intelligence.
The games made an especially big impact on David Lee, who prior to assuming his current role as PwC Ireland’s Chief Technology Officer, spent 14 years working for IBM, the tech giant that created Deep Blue.
The intervening decades have brought a complete transformation of the AI experience, as evident in the findings of PwC’s 2026 AI Performance Survey.
For Lee, however, the journey towards this transformative era began with a technology magazine and a BBC Microcomputer.
AI is at the forefront of Ireland’s changing business landscape. PwC’s David Lee has been monitoring the impact of this transformative force for most of his career
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It’s A Long Way to Technology
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David Lee, Partner and Chief Technology Officer
PwC Ireland
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This is a caption, this is a caption, The film is Dune (1984)
The trip to tech
“I grew up in Tipperary in the 1980s. Technology wasn’t at the forefront. Outside of using a BBC Microcomputer and manually keying code for hours just to get a bat to hit a ball across a screen, I had very limited exposure to tech,” Lee says.
That all changed while studying for his Master’s degree at UCD in the late 1980s and early 1990s, where he was introduced to concepts such as neural networks and algorithmic logic — the very foundations of today’s Large Language Models.
It was here that Lee recognised that technology’s true power wasn’t in its novelty, but in its utility. He spent time coding algorithms to optimise the routes travelled by milk tankers having regards for factors as diverse as the road network and the seasonality of milk production, balancing seasonality and weather to ensure efficiency.
The cultural perception of the IT person has undergone a similarly drastic evolution. The classic trope once existed in popular culture, in shows such as The IT Crowd, in which technologists are always the guys tucked away in a dingy basement, far from the strategic pulse of the company. “I was in that basement 30 years ago,” Lee laughs.
In the early days of his career, technology was used to support the operation of the business; its job was to keep the lights on. It then moved into an era in which it provided the data and insights to help people run the business. Today, the script has been flipped entirely.
“In many cases, the technology is the business,” Lee says. Technology has moved from a support function to the core engine of value creation.
Out of the Basement
Despite the omnipresence of AI in the headlines, Lee is quick to point out that not every organisation is reaping the rewards. PwC’s AI Performance Survey of 1,217 senior global executives (including Irish contributors), gives the company a unique view of what separates AI leaders from laggards and highlights a stark “AI value gap”. Roughly 20 per cent of companies capture 75 per cent of the total economic value generated by the technology.
“People are still focused on how to use AI to do things faster, as opposed to looking at it and asking ‘how can I use this technology to do things differently?’” Lee says.
Efficiency is a valid goal, but can be a trap. “If a process is inefficient to start with, automating the wrong steps is only going to make you do the wrong things faster,” he says.
The pioneers — those in that top 20 per cent — are those who treat AI as an enabler of change, using it to reinvent their business models rather than just polishing existing ones
Mind the Value Gap
If a process is inefficient to start with, automating the wrong steps is only going to make you do the wrong things faster
For many leaders, the pace of change is daunting. However, Lee suggests that the secret to success isn’t in the IT budget, but in the mindset of the leadership team. He cites a compelling mantra from a colleague: “AI is 10 per cent skill and 90 per cent will.”
“The challenge is to focus on mindset and willingness, rather than just building skills for the sake of scale,” Lee explains.
This means giving teams the authority to use the technology to fundamentally change how the business operates. It requires moving beyond proofs of concept that are treated as ends in themselves.
“There’s a comfort in doing things within a safe zone,” Lee says, “but if your ambition is to complete a proof of concept, rather than scaling it into an enduring, impactful solution, the mindset is wrong to start with.”
Secret to success is in the mindset
In a world where algorithms are increasingly making decisions, the question of trust is paramount. For PwC, this isn’t just a moral stance; it is a business imperative. Lee has found that outperforming organisations are 1.7 times more likely to operate within a formal ‘Responsible AI’ framework.
“Trust is at the core of every business,” Lee says. “It is hard-won and easily lost.”
Far from being a handbrake on innovation, Lee argues that these frameworks allow companies to move at pace. When employees and customers see that an organisation is acting responsibly regarding data, governance, and security, the friction of adoption disappears.
This leads to a new way of measuring success: moving from a traditional Return on Investment (ROI) to a Return on Experience (RoE). By evaluating how AI improves the experience for customers and employees, businesses can build a more sustainable, trusted foundation for growth.
In Tech We Trust
As we look toward the future, Lee’s horizon-scanning reveals both immense opportunity and a significant warning. While the technology is evolving at breakneck speed, the greatest risk is not the failure of a specific tool, but making a choice to sit on the sidelines.
“The risk of inaction or lack of pace is the biggest challenge,” Lee warns. “I can tell you for a fact that the technology will be better in three months’ time. And better again in six months.”
But waiting for perfection is a losing game. The current landscape is like a travelator: if you step off, the world continues to surge forward without you.
“There is no substitute for doing. While the technology you’re using may change, the learning you gain from doing will sustain beyond that technology. Use it and learn.”
From manually keying code in rural Tipperary to navigating the high-stakes world of global finance, David Lee’s journey illustrates a simple truth: while technology has evolved dramatically, its real value still lies in solving problems that matter.
The Cost of Inaction
“Seeing technology address a real-world issue really brought it home to me,” Lee says. “It’s not all about space-age theories; it’s about solving day-to-day problems.”
Lee had a front-row seat, therefore, when AI started to shift from a specialist preserve to a universal business tool.
“When we first engaged with AI, it was quite specialist. There were models developed to address a specific challenge — leak detection on water networks, or fraud detection in financial services.”
These were the preserve of specialised technologists. Now, however, we are seeing a democratisation of that power. The transformative shift hasn’t just been in the tech itself, but in its accessibility.
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