The European Council approved the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act which will enter into force next month, setting a potential global standard for AI regulation. Broadridge’s recent Digital Transformation and Next-Gen Tech Study canvassed the views of 500 global C-suite and senior executives across the financial services sector. It reveals:
Attitudes towards AI regulation:
- 51% do not agree that AI should be tightly regulated
- 54% believe that financial firms should be allowed to self-regulate their adoption of AI
- 41% of European firms agree that greater regulatory clarity on the use of the latest technologies would encourage innovation
- 43% of European firms agree that the pace of technology innovation is moving faster than regulators can keep up with
- 31% of European firms agree that AI should be tightly regulated since it could create major risks
AI usage:
- 94% of financial services firms in Europe are making some level of investment in AI. 35% of European firms are currently making a large investment
- Nearly three quarters (74%) of European firms believe that AI will lead to a significant improvement in customer experience
- However, only 4% of European firms are making a large investment into generative AI. 38% said they are making no investment at all
- Customer interaction is the top function that European firms are currently prioritising for their AI investments (46% of firms prioritising). This is closely followed by research and analysis (46%) and portfolio management (36%)
Tom Carey, president for Global Technology and Operations at Broadridge, said in a statement: “The EU AI Act is landmark piece of legislation designed to ensure the safe innovation and adoption of AI technologies across Europe — but is this what financial services firms want? Our latest study shows that AI regulation is dividing opinion among European financial services firms. While nearly a third of firms believe that tighter AI regulation is necessary, more than half of firms believe they should be allowed to self regulate their adoption of AI instead.
“Given that almost all firms we surveyed in Europe (94%) said they are investing in AI to some extent, the EU AI Act is going to have a significant impact when it is rolled out. Now is the time for organizations to take a closer look at the current governance and controls that they have in place, and identify any gaps that need addressing in order to become compliant with the new legislation.”
Access the full survey