Separating new-tech hype from tangible value is rarely as easy as reading vendors’ press releases. Accenture PLC operates seven labs around the globe to dig up the facts for itself. Technologies currently under investigation are blockchain, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.“I’ve lived a lot of winters of artificial intelligence; now I think, finally, maybe there’s going to be some spring,” said Marc Carrel-Billiard (pictured), global senior managing director at Accenture Labs