Anushka Gupta

26 July 2019

Finance

Maskey, Sameer. “How Artificial Intelligence Is Helping Financial Institutions.” ​Forbes,​ Forbes

Magazine, 5 Dec. 2018,

www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/12/05/how-artificial-intelligence-is-helping-financ

ial-institutions/#5b8930e5460a.

Transitioning between two different topics of study can be quite a frameshift, but luckily

for me my two topics are becoming heavily integrated. Artificial intelligence is increasingly

becoming the mode of technology that financial institutions are incorporating to expedite their

functions. From customer service chatbots to contract analyzers, AI is doing it all. The article

cited above details some of the main areas AI is being incorporated: chatbots and personalized

customer service; compliance, fraud detection, and anti-money laundering services; and process

automation. Now, in concurrence with shifting perspectives from a technological one to a

business one (though, as I mentioned before, I feel like they are merging quickly) what I found

most interesting was in considering the implications of it for the structure of financial

institutions.

The first thought is that now, more than ever before, any one who works in the financial

industry has to be well-versed in artificial intelligence and fields related to it. Being able to use

and understand this technology seems to be an imperative part in becoming successful in the

financial industry. This means that from a hiring and employee qualification perspective, I, as a

future employee in the financial industry, need to have these new qualifications. An interesting
thing that the article mentioned was that there is a shortage of talent regarding an education in

both business/finance and AI, which is what has made me rethink my plans in pursuing a higher

education. In college, I think it would be the best option if I studied a combination of these two

topics.

Another thing this made me think of is how for the technology to be used successfully, it

has to be integrated successfully. Financial service companies and executives have to be more

adaptable to the incoming changes to their work environments and come up with clear methods

by which they will be implementing this new technology. Not only does this mean that the

employees have to be well-versed in all things AI, but there is a growing place for solely

technology experts too. Big tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft aren’t the only

ones that are using new and cutting edge technology.

Considering these factors, it has become evident to me that transitioning from AI to

finance as my field of study will be nearly seamless and very interconnected. There are many

elements from my previous topic of study that will be sparking conversations in my interviews

and with my future mentor about breaching new frontiers in the financial industry. And within

these integrated fields there are other fields I can pursue such as fraud detection, risk

management, and cybersecurity/privacy which are highly important subfields. The use of AI in

finance creates a larger window for increased instances of fraud and invasions of privacy, but by

understanding and using AI, these same things can be combated. Reading this article has brought

new revelations in my train of thought and I’m sure that AI will be a recurring theme as I pursue

finance.