Acuity, Australia: Cognizant Experts Provide Tips for Banks to Keep Customer Trust in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

“As AI transitions from being our little daily helper to something much more powerful (and disruptive), it impacts every facet of our commercial lives and banks and financial service providers are no exception when it comes to moving from “digital that’s fun” to “digital that matters”,” write Cognizant’s Carlo Lacota, Head of Banking and Financial Services, ANZ, and Manish Bahl, Senior Director of the company’s Center for the Future of Work. “There is, however, an unspoken side to this AI shift that raises important technological, social and ethical questions.” Excerpts:

“AI is a great guide, but an incorrect interpretation or a small mistake can quickly result in the loss of customer trust. AI is becoming the new frontier in retaining loyal and engaged customers. There are several practical approaches that banks can employ to maintain customer trust in the age of AI which not only protect their customers’ data, but also increase data value and quality.

In order to address this, banks must establish data ethics frameworks which use analytics to intelligently differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate uses of data within the context of their business. This can take the form of an embedded ethics monitoring mechanism ― such as a tool or pre-built framework ― that can guide and notify users of ethical breaches with data. We see this as a human-led activity that sets out what is acceptable and what isn’t ― it cannot be automated away.

It’s time for ethics to be at the core of an algorithm creation process. In fact, ethics needs to be a key performance indicator for every employee who has a connection with customer data. As technology advancements increase the efficiency in delivery of customer service, with data at its core, instead of viewing technology as a barrier to trust, banks (as custodians of customer data) should view technology as its enabler.

Digital regulation will evolve at its own pace across geographies and banks should not assume that they are absolved from responsibilities by publishing data privacy and security policies and their associated terms and conditions (which most customers don’t even bother read) even when a customer hits “I accept”.

Banks need to focus on self-regulation founded on openness and accountability with an obsession for maintaining customer trust at its core. When customers feel their trust eroding, they’ll move on.

There are numerous challenges to maintaining customer trust in the age of AI and bots, but achieving trust through technology and creating data ethical frameworks will ensure that customers remain at the center of your business and trust you through the process.”

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