AI industry chiefs raise regulatory fears in Parliament

The ‘Fintech is Dead. Long Live FinAI’ summit was organised by the Parliament Street think tank, hosted by Dean Russell MP for Watford, and chaired by Steven George-Hilley of Centropy PR.

Over 70 industry experts, academics and chief executives attended the debate, including representatives from Capgemini, to discuss the impact AI will have on both the public and private sector, ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s global AI summit in November.

Stephen Dury, Head of Next Gen FS at Capgemini Invent said: "As our clients delve deeper into emerging technologies such as AI, their queries about its disruptive nature and potential opportunities grow. While the promise and risks of these new technologies is vast, the pivotal first step lies in identifying the specific problems that need to be addressed. Central to this journey is an unwavering focus on enhancing customer experiences, creating value and driving good outcomes."

Michael Mortenson, Associate Professor, Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology said: “We are seeing the rise of genAI. More than just picture and text generation, genAI’s ability to work with both human input and data analysis tools has the clear potential to semi-automate much of the traditional knowledge work we associate with finance roles.”

Uday Samant, Minister of Industries of Maharashtra, India, who was attending as part of a trade mission, called for a closer working relationship between the UK and India on AI strategy, offering British firms financial incentives to invest in the country. Discussing his country’s capabilities and plans for development of a new AI park, he said: “The government provides state-of-the-art infrastructure within the AI Park, including office spaces, research facilities, and laboratories equipped with the latest AI technology. This minimises initial setup costs for companies.”

Jamie Beaumont, Founder, Playter said: "One of the biggest problems I find is regulating something that you don't know is very hard. The trajectory of AI has gone crazy over the last year, when we don't know the next step or where AI will be in a year, how do we regulate?" Dominic Duru, Co-Founder of DKK Partners said: "If you can't understand you can't regulate. The businesses are the ones that understand what needs to be stopped."

Sarah Rench, Data, AI, and Industry Solutions Global COE Director at Avanade said: "Education will be majorly disrupted by AI. One challenge is that education will constantly have to evolve, teachers will have to be retrained and security will need to be considered."

"We must educate on how personal data is being used and how decisions are being made. We need an increased understanding on how our data is used," added Paola Masperi, Standard Chartered Ventures.