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be able to use the technology to help modernize |
existing IT infrastructure. Generative AI itself, |
notably its ability to generate code, can help with the |
transformation away from legacy systems and data |
storage.32 More generally, says Briest, companies have |
a big opportunity to use generative AI to accelerate the |
shift off some legacy applications that maybe it was just |
cost-prohibitive to consider previously. |
A tight talent market |
Another challenge around adoption of new technology |
is a lack of talent and expertise. Currently, generative |
AI is so new that you cant really hire a whole lot of |
experience, says Mileham. Villanueva agrees that |
it is challenging to find talent because of the highly |
competitive labor market. |
Despite the current shortage in generative AI talent, |
some see this as an expected problem, common to |
every industry. I dont see it as a long-term problem, |
says Briest. He explains that the same talent shortage |
has accompanied the appearance of other new |
technologies, such as cloud, but that a supply of the |
necessary talent has developed. An April 2023 survey |
indicates that for generative AI, finding talent is already |
growing easier (see Figure 6). |
Experts say that as the technology evolves over time, |
finding talent could become less of a problem. First, |
new entrants into the workforce will increasingly have |
been educated with the technology in mind. At the |
same time, while generative AI is new, it overlaps with |
other fields of AI and machine learning. |
The past can offer some lessons, says Cont. Consider, |
for example, financial services professionals using |
earlier AI to conduct simulations for investment banks. |
A lot of quants switched to data scientist roles, he |
says. They just changed their business cards. Theres |
not a shortage of people. The tech is new, but the math |
and computational foundations are not. |
Figure 6: Hiring for AI-related roles |
Responses in McKinseys survey suggest that hiring tech talent has become somewhat easier since 2022. |
Source: Compiled by MIT Technology Review Insights, based on data from The state of AI in 2023: Generative AIs breakout year, McKinsey, 2023 |
Share of respondents reporting difculty in organizations hiring of AI-related roles % |
Less difcult |
More difcult |
18 |
MIT Technology Review Insights |
0 |
Meanwhile, companies like RCBC are looking to |
develop internally the skills needed to use generative |
AI tools. Villanueva says the banks approach |
contributes to employee satisfaction with the new |
technology. RCBC has its Digital Academy providing |
the best-in-class and relevant trainings for its human |
resources, he adds. |
At Betterment, letting people develop their own skills |
is designed to help both employees and the company. |
Our thought is to get the technology into peoples |
hands so that they can start to become the experts, |
says Mileham. |
Our thought is to get the |
technology into peoples |
hands so that they can |
start to become the |
experts. |
John Mileham, Chief Technology Officer, |
Betterment |
19 |
MIT Technology Review Insights |
06 |
06 |
G |
enerative AI applications appear |
impressive, but they are general-purpose |
tools that do not address most of the |
specific needs of financial services |
companies. There are different use cases |
within financial services that will need to use some |
proprietary data and not the very general kind of data |
that ChatGPT is using, says Chia. Companies will need |
to be prepared for the fact that theyre not going to get |
immediate results when they start investing in the |
technology, he warns: It takes a long time to have a |
high-quality model. |
Importance of customization |
Companies like Betterment will likely need to create |
distinct tools to address different uses. We wouldnt |
create an everything machine that has all of our |
customer information in it for anybody to draw from, |
says Mileham. That wouldnt be a good practice for |
a serious financial institution. Even once those use- |
specific models are in place, Chia says the work doesnt |
end there. In financial services, you will always have |
new products and new processes, which means that |
there will always be a need to retrain the models, he |
explains. |
Tech-specific |