Siddhant Maheshwari

Professor Said
Intro Comp: Writing as Inquiry
2nd November, 2021

Statement of a problem
The problem I found evoking my curiosity and passion was of Artificial intelligence (AI) and

Finance. AI technologies are the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines,

especially computer systems, these technologies are replacing humans in the financial industry,

which is creating unemployment, uncertainty, redundancy, and dependency on technology.

Distinctive technological solutions and an ability to rapidly adapt gives companies a

competitive advantage. They are now developing and employing modern technologies to move

aggressively and strategically to disrupt rather than be disrupted. This greed to be the industry

leader and disruptor is the root cause for this problem. This problem is effecting thousands of

professionals in the finance industry as they are being made redundant by AI and also

increasing the dependency on technology. Citi president Jamie Forese said in 2018 that robots

could replace as many as 10,000 human jobs within five years. (Will para 2) While the use of

AI remains sparse, and the technology is still basic, a boost in revenue will increase the

adoption of automation. An example of AI applications in the financial industry are smart

virtual assistants, which are handling transactions, providing valuable information, and helping

customers. AI technology proved itself more efficient and effective than humans, and this is

now leading to a mass layoff for professionals in the financial sector because they cannot

compete with technology. The aim of this paper is to solve this problem with the help of

creative solutions which have the least limitations and are feasible to be applied now. I have

interviewed the same financial analyst, Mr. Gupta, with whom I discussed the problem to

understand both the sides and avoiding any bias.

Thesis statement- Providing on-the-job and off-the-job training to existing employees to

work alongside Aartificial intelligence(AI) technology will solve the problem of AI

technologies replacing humans in the financial industry, which is creating unemployment,

uncertainty, redundancy, and dependency on technology.

Proposed solution

There is one solution to minimize the effects of this problem while also solving it completely

over a certain period.

1. Providing on-the-job and off-the-job training to existing employees to work alongside

AI technology and extend their skillset which would make them more adaptable in the

everchanging business environment. When I proposed this idea, Mr. Gupta promptly

responded showing his agreement but also pointing out what specifically would fulfill

this purpose. The training could include activities like learning new courses to diversify

into skills like SQL, Algo-trading, robotic automation etc., mentoring by a senior, and
learning practical applications. The cost for the training would be paid by the company

itself. The training program would involve employing more professionals and

technological resources which will create more employment. They can set up virtual

labs for training which can also help companies reduce costs. Lopez de Prado, who is

now a Cornell University professor, testified on the adverse impact of artificial

intelligence on capital markets and jobs. He spoke of the algorithms automating the

jobs of traders and displacing thousands of people. He told the U.S. House Committee

on Financial Services, “Financial machine learning creates a number of challenges for

the 6.14 million people employed in the finance and insurance industry, many of whom

will lose their jobs—not necessarily because they are replaced by machines, but because

they are not trained to work alongside algorithms."- ( Kelley Para 1). The visual below

shares the application of AI in the different financial sectors and helps tailor specific

training requirments.
Justification of solutions

1. This solution is very feasible and can be put into effect in a truly short span of time as

all the major companies have some type of training programs to develop their workforce

and keep them at the top of the game. The 2 varied of options having on-the-job training

and off-the-job training allow high flexibility for employees where they can learn while

working, which does not let the workforce get redundant but also at the same time they

are learning new skills. The other option provides opportunities to take a break from

the work and totally focus on the training in a different setting. All these factors

contribute to developing a more adaptable workforce which can survive any

technological changes in the future. As the workforce gets more skillful and learn to

work alongside technology, there will be minimal layoffs which helps reducing the

unemployment and assures job security for the employees. Laura Barrowman, CTO at

the Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse, revealed the company is already retraining

employees whose jobs have been displaced by AI: "Globally, if you look at cyber skills,

I think there is a deficit," Barrowman told Business Insider's panel at the World

Economic Forum earlier this year. "There is such a shortage of skills, and you need

people who have that capability." (Akhtar Para 4)

2. The training is a long-term investment for the companies and will also help them

increasing employee loyalty. The financial industry is known for the lifelong

commitment and loyalty of its employees and that is because of the perks and lucrative

nature of the work. Training employees has no harms but endless benefits such as more
 employee loyalty and a more productive and innovative workforce, which will lead to

higher job satisfaction and increase the revenues they generate.

According to the JPMorgan's CHRO, “With 50 percent of our jobs facing high change

in required skill sets by 2020, it is clear that we need to start a transformation journey

to develop future skills in a faster and more cost-efficient manner,”.( Rapkin para 2).

This statement supports the solution and is evident as JP Morgan created programs for

employees across the company, with a wide variety of courses: programming to

leadership development to finance. By creating this foundation of learning, the

company is preparing its people to continuously upgrade their skills to stay ahead of

the curve. The introduction of technical skills development will bring out a perfect

amalgamation of the soft skills and technical skills in the financial workforce which

will help them excel in all the aspects and requirements of their job. Mr. Gupta

explained to me that how is firm is focusing on dividing jobs between what tech can do

better such as algorithmic trading and what humans can do better such as oral

communication, persuasion, and negotiation.

3. Technology training makes financial services companies more competitive -- Finance

companies are at risk of losing up to 28 percent of their banking and payments business

to fintech companies by 2020. To prevent this, you must move more quickly and upskill

staff with relevant tech skills.( Williams para 1)

Financial firms can be highly competitive if they learn to transform how they view

technology and emerging markets. Innovation from within comes from being

unconstrained by legacy technology, establishing ways to quickly adopt innovative

ideas and driving expansion in untraditional regions. Tech training not only prepares

staff to support digital transformation, a case study mentioned by Coursera also

indicated that tech training can also optimize customer service for financial institutions.

By advancing their technology skills, the banking institution’s tech team was better

equipped to meet customer demands and provide more effective customer service. Most

financial firms understand the need to be flexible and responsive in this highly

competitive and constantly changing landscape. According to PwC, almost one-fifth of

CEOs in the financial services sector “believe that technology has completely reshaped

competition in their industry over the past five years and a further 44% believe that it

will have a significant future impact.” ( Willimas para 3). Agility now plays a critical

role in shaping organizations to remain relevant in the future. For example, the use of

robo-advisors is becoming more widespread, helping clients build and adjust their own

investment portfolios instead of with human managers. With a new report by McKinsey

predicting that automation may wipe out up to 30% of the hours worked globally by

2030, every professional – especially those in financial services – must plan for the

impact of the digital transformation on their career. ( James Para 2)

Limitations
1.The digitalisation of the financial industry due to AI will cause increased dependency on

technology, which is one of the biggest issues the world is facing at the moment. The human

dependency on technology creates uncertainty as technology operates on several factors which

cant be guaranteed at all the moments such as electricity, servers, technicians. So the smallest

issue with technology could lead to a loss of billions of dollars if things go haywire. The

solution to this problem would be maintain a healthy balance between human centered jobs

and technology- centered jobs in the financial industry while also having a back-up option for

all the core functions. Mr. Gupta pointed out how the right combination of humans and

technology tasks is especially important to be prepared for the business environment and

handling disruptions. Such as traders being able to trade via phones in case of a technical failure

of cyber servers.

2.The financial industry is known for the heavy time commitment, so they won't be able to give

the ideal training time to their employees on the job. Even if they can do so, they would have

to hire more staff to fill the deficit of the work not being completed. The costs to train their

employees would be a long-term investment with no guarantee, for example, a employee could

just get trained under company A and then get hired by company B. Which creates an

imbalance because company A paid for the training but company B is reaping its benefits. So,

a possible solution to this problem could be to get contracts signed by employees who are

taking training under a company, and then they must work in the same company for a certain

number of years. This way they can contribute to the revenue and growth of the company while

also not being unemployed, or not having job security.

Conclusion
Imagine a platform that empowers sales teams with on-demand information, while new hires

are able to add value from day 1. Imagine that the same platform offers the means to improve

engagement levels, while ensuring regulatory compliance through microlearning. Add to these

capabilities robust learning and content consumption analytics and the ability to tweak content

for optimal engagement and learning outcomes. Such a platform will solve many of the issues

faced by financial services companies. When it comes to digital disruption, it isn’t only about

the solutions your organization offers customers; it is also about providing innovative

technology for employee and business success. By making the move to a more modern

workplace learning experience that delivers personalized learning, financial services

organizations can respond dynamically to new business demands and changing market

conditions.

The professionals working in the financial industry and the companies are the ones majorly

affected by this problem. The students aspiring to work in the financial industry should
understand the importance of technical skills and prepare themselves beforehand to be

proficient in these areas by learning varied skills such as coding, automation, Machine learning.

The next steps are for companies to start designing specific and tailored training programs for

their employees, and figure out contracts which doesn’t let employees leave after training. They

should focus more on creating human-centered jobs to foster employee loyalty and job security.

The problem of AI technology replacing human workforce in the financial sector can be solved

by providing various forms of training to prepare the workforce to work alongside technology

and learn new skills.

Citations-
Martin, Will. “Robots Could Replace as Many as 10,000 Jobs at Citi's
Investment Bank.” Business Insider Australia, 12 June 2018,
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/citi-executive-warns-banking-jobs-
automation-2018-6.
Kelly, Jack. “Artificial Intelligence Is Superseding Well-Paying Wall Street
Jobs.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Dec. 2019,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/12/10/artificial-intelligence-
is-superseding-well-paying-wall-street-jobs/?sh=5f54ce06524d.
Akhtar, Allana. “The 2020s Could Be an Apocalyptic Decade for Wall Street as
Artificial Intelligence Takes over the Most Popular Jobs in Finance.”
Business Insider, Business Insider, 9 Dec. 2019,
https://www.businessinsider.com/banking-jobs-remain-popular-despite-
the-threat-of-automation-2019-4.
Rapkin, Jackson. “Why Tech Training Is the next Big Thing for Financial
Services Companies.” Coursera Blog, 11 Dec. 2017,
https://blog.coursera.org/tech-training-next-big-thing-financial-services-
companies/.
Williams, Debbie. “Why Technology Training Is Critical for Financial Services
Companies.” TOPYX Learning Management System (LMS) and Online
Training Platform, 2021, https://www.topyx.com/lms-blog/why-
technology-training-is-critical-for-financial-services-companies.
James, Morgan. “How Technology Affects Jobs in the Financial Services
Industry.” VATBox, 18 Aug. 2019, https://vatbox.com/technology-affects-
job-in-financial-industry/.