The age of AI
A quarter of a century ago, banking stood on the verge of the Digital Age. The internet was starting to reveal its potential and most bankers had a strong premonition that far-reaching change was coming. Today we feel a similar sense of awe as we contemplate the potential of gen AI, especially when powered by the cloud and rapidly expanding data capabilities.
We’re confident the age of AI will change banking and many other industries—exactly how, we’ll only know in retrospect. No part of the bank—and few if any roles within it—will remain untouched.
Every year we share our perspective on the trends most likely to shape the future of the industry in the next 12 months and beyond. It should be no surprise the number one trend this year is the rapid adoption of gen AI, nor that it’ll have a transformative impact on the other nine trends bankers will need to confront in the months to come.
We’re now on the threshold of the Age of AI. Banking, like most other industries, will never be the same. The challenge is to ensure it’s a force for good that benefits our organizations, our people and all humankind.
Gen AI will undoubtedly be disruptive, but we’re confident that most of this will be positive. Our recent Art of AI Maturity survey on the topic—involving 1,600 C-suite executives at many of the world’s largest companies—found that 42% of those leading the way have already achieved a return on their AI investments that exceeds their expectations.
But the secret to these outcomes isn’t AI—it’s how it’s being used. It’s as much about people as it is about technology and as much about strategy as implementation. That’s a lot of balls to keep up in the air. But banks that master this juggling act will look back in years to come and toast to 2024.
Michael Abbott discusses how generative AI could reshape financial services in 2024 in this American Banker podcast.
