AI is revolutionizing the financial services industry, particularly in compliance and operations. Rav Hayer, Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal, discusses the role of AI in helping financial institutions comply with regulations. AI integration enables institutions to align their policies and procedures with current or new regulations, identifying gaps and recommending necessary amendments. However, regulations sometimes struggle to keep pace with technological innovations, such as AI. To bridge this gap, AI can play a supportive role in developing regulatory frameworks, assisting in the identification of required processes based on guidelines.
AI can also be employed to manage finance functions and maintain balance sheets. Well-trained AI models can efficiently compare various sources, identify discrepancies, and assist in auditing financial figures. However, it's crucial to adopt a 'human-in-the-loop' approach, where AI serves as a tool rather than the final decision-maker, especially in tightly regulated industries like financial services.
In the context of anti-money laundering (AML) activities, information verification, and underwriting, AI can make decisions aligned with previous manual analysis. AI can detect red flags for AML by analyzing new customers' information and locate specific data in unstructured formats. For underwriting, AI can use historical data to estimate a client's risk profile and correlate it with their credit score.
While AI brings numerous benefits, it's important to be mindful of its downsides. These include its impact on labor forces and intellectual property concerns. To mitigate these downsides, a rigorous approach involving all stakeholders is required to ensure consistency, prevent biases, address ethical challenges, protect intellectual property, encrypt personal data, and consider energy consumption.
Looking ahead, Hayer sees Generative AI (GenAI) as a transformative force over the next 5-10 years, impacting industries and society like the Industrial Revolution and the internet. Advances in computational power and diverse data sources will enhance GenAI's capabilities. However, global control frameworks and best practices are necessary to safeguard user privacy and prevent misuse. Collaboration between governments and industries is crucial in defining a broader regulatory framework. Additionally, the environmental impact of AI must be considered, but AI itself can contribute to eco-friendly advancements in energy usage and efficiency.