Financial industry urged to capitalize on AI to create synergy in corporate world

Andrew Ng, co-founder of Google Brain and adjunct professor at Stanford University's Computer Science Department, speaks during a special lecture on artificial intelligence (AI) at KB Financial Group's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, July 21. Courtesy of KB Financial Group

By Yi Whan-woo

Financial firms can capitalize on artificial intelligence (AI) to partner with shipping, warehouse and other logistics businesses and create a synergy in a corporate world that is being rapidly transformed by AI, an internationally-renowned AI expert said.

Andrew Ng, a co-founder of Google's deep learning research team Google Brain, also said AI has been adopted earlier in the financial industry compared to other sectors and that it hopefully can take initiative in AI-related business.

Ng, the founder of each of the two AI companies in Silicon Valley ― DeepLearning.AI and Landing AI ― who is also an adjunct professor at Stanford University's Computer Science Department, shared his foresight during a special lecture organized by KB Financial Group in Seoul last week.

The largest banking group in Korea invited Ng to learn about the future direction of the AI industry and possible measures to be taken by the financial industry to get the most out of it.

Ng said the financial sector was an early adopter of AI and added that the industry has rich customer data and infrastructure to become a leader in related businesses.

He touched on ethics, saying AI will emerge as a “powerful technology in society and its users should think how they can use it in an ethical manner.”

Regarding inaccuracy, bias and other shortcomings of AI, the professor cited a need to remove those risks and make sure it functions properly.

“It was a valuable opportunity for KB Financial Group's executives and rank-and-file employees to think about how they can use AI to make services more accessible and easier for customers,” the banking group said.

The group added, “We'll make sure to keep up with the era of AI on one hand and safeguard the values of the human being to make the world a better place.”