Paul Yates , Product Strategy Director , iPipeline

When Hollywood makes films about artificial intelligence ( AI ), think Skynet in Terminator or HAL in 2001 A Space Odyssey , it usually involves the destruction of humanity . Now AI is making headlines beyond the arts pages , does it signal the end of mankind as we know it ? Or is it just another extension of the ongoing technology revolution – automating simpler tasks , reserving human intelligence for where it can have the biggest impacts ?

Maybe that ’ s why , in July , the Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA ) announced its intention to regulate critical third parties , including AI services , for the UK financial sector .

So , what ’ s the truth closer to home , within financial service ? How will AI affect the advice market and should we all , or at least the next generation , fear for our financial futures ?

What is AI ?

Whilst AI has been the hot technology topic in recent months , it is not a new phenomenon . According to Encyclopaedia Britannica , AI is : “ the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings ”.

AI that uses machine learning has been around for a number of years in financial service – in protection through our PreQuo protection engagement tool , for example , and in robo-advice where technology and algorithms step in for the adviser – but it is the recent launch of Chat GPT and its rivals such as Google ’ s Bard , which has changed the conversation .

AI learns with data and experience , making it more effective over time , but what perhaps has been the game-changer in recent months has been its power , grasp and control of language . Firms can now deploy Chat GPT to help with copywriting , which was a function previously untouched by AI . This early use highlights both the opportunity and threat of AI to all professions – some are worried that the risk of automating many more roles just increased massively , impacting on jobs and the world of work across the globe . Within financial services , could this eventually mean advice conversations can be held by AI chatbots ?

26 | PROTECTION ADVISER | AUTUMN 2023 |