text
stringlengths 0
182
|
---|
cost cutting, rather than on income generation. This is |
true in every part of the sector, including in banking, |
wealth management, insurance, and payments. |
These savings, in most cases, arise from using |
technology to free human employees from the need to |
analyze large amounts of often unstructured data and to |
produce output in response to directions given in natural |
language. We will leverage on generative AI to change |
the anatomy of work, including our internal processes, by |
automating typically tedious tasks and workflows, says |
Lito Villanueva, chief innovations officer and executive |
vice president at Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation |
(RCBC), a Philippines-based bank. RCBC is not alone. |
According to a Fortune article published in June 2023, |
so-called generative AI is already helping to speed up |
mundane tasks known to crush the spirit of junior Wall |
Street employees, hedge funds sayfrom reviewing |
reams of market research to writing basic code and |
summarizing fund performance.10 |
Eyeing higher-value work |
These innovations are not typically designed to reduce |
employment levels so much as to give time for staff to |
focus on higher-value work. Mileham notes that even |
the limited applications deployed at Betterment so |
far represent an unmitigated boon in the day-to-day |
operations of the firm. There are efficiency benefits |
across the board. The value is real, and we get a lot out |
of it, he says. |
Figure 5: General Impact of generative AI |
Overall, UBS analysts see cost savings as the most likely outcome from advances in generative AI, based on |
analysis of 31 sectors. |
Source: Compiled by MIT Technology Review Insights, based on data from Will Generative AI deliver a generational transformation, UBS, 2023 |
Wealth & asset |
managers |
Autos |
Banks |
Fintech/ |
payments |
Support services |
Building/ |
construction |
IT services |
Transport |
Insurance** |
Software |
Media |
Chemicals |
Oil & gas |
Stock exchanges |
Staples |
Aerospace/defense |
Real estate |
Mining |
Telecoms |
Semiconductors |
Technology hardware |
Luxury goods |
Medical devices |
General retail |
Food retail |
Capital goods |
Internet* |
Leisure |
Pharma |
Steel |
Utilities |
Revenue potential |
Cost saving potential |
Competition risk |
*Internet identied an increase in costs as well as greater revenue and competition potential. |
**Insurance saw a negative risk to revenues as well as cost-saving potentials and risk of increased competition |
12 |
MIT Technology Review Insights |
Another potential improvement is that generative |
AI applications may sometimes outperform people |
when evaluating unstructured data. A University of |
Chicago business school study, for example, found |
that a generative AI tool could quickly and accurately |
process the implications of bloated financial disclosure |
information, which might seek to hide the truth through |
verbiage. |
11 |
In contrast, academic research into the ability of a |
generative AI tool to help customer service operations |
found that it increased average productivity in terms of |
issue resolution per hour. However, it had the greatest |
impact on novice and low-skilled workers, and minimal |
impact on experienced and highly skilled workers.12 In |
other words, it helped new employees get up to speed, |
but was less useful to those who already knew the |
ropes. |
Uses of generative AI in the finance sector |
Financial services firms have focused generative AI |
deployment on several specific tasks that share the |
kind of attributes described above. |
Customer service: Chia speaks for many when he |
notes a very strong use case for generative AI in |
customer servicegoing 24/7 for customer service, |
even to the extent of providing advice for customers. |
Indeed, the academic research noted above on use |