Dozens of Capitol Hill staff joined AI experts from BSA | The Software Alliance members and partners for a briefing on artificial intelligence in financial services with opening remarks from Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.)
The event, which was organized by the Digital Transformation Network, a signature initiative of BSA, featured a panel discussion including Mike Hind, Distinguished Researcher, AI Department, IBM; Puneet Mehta, Founder & CEO, Natomi; Enki Toto, Investor, Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund; and Andres Wolberg-Stok, Managing Director Strategy, Office of the CTO, Citi; moderatorated by Austin Carson, president at SeedAI.
As Congress considers how best to approach the issue of artificial intelligence, Foster, a member of both the House Financial Services Committee and the Congressional AI Caucus, said the policy environment called for “a little more congressional thought and a little less congressional panic.”
The speakers emphasized the importance of government collaboration to determine how to train artificial intelligence systems and with what data sets. AI needs a framework around it to operate efficiently and accurately. Hind likened the principle of AI transparency and explainability to nutritional labels for AI systems, which tell someone what an AI system is trained on, as well as the possibility of certain events.
The speakers also spoke to how the increasing volumes and accuracy of financial data can actually help to expand financial inclusion by connecting more data points and finding patterns that might not have been achievable before, to identify instances to expand access, or help bridge the financial education gap.
The entire event, which was organized in conjunction with the Congressional AI Caucus as part of its AI Primer series, underscored the need for educating the public and policymakers alike on the capabilities of AI and the tools that are available.
The bottom line? Education on the risks and capabilities of AI is pivotal at all levels from the consumer to businesses and governments to understand AI and create a robust framework.
Learn more about the role of artificial intelligence in the financial services sector in the most recent Digital Transformation Network report here. DTN will release its next sector report in the coming months, click here to sign up for the newsletter.
