Citi Sees AI Impacting More Than Half Of All Finance Jobs

Which industry’s job market will be most impacted by artificial intelligence (AI)?

According to a new report by Citi, a little more than half — 54% — of jobs in the banking sector have a higher potential for automation, while another 12% could be augmented by AI.

“AI-powered clients could increase price competition in the finance sector. The balance of power may shift,” the banking giant said in the intro to the report. “AI may be adopted faster by digitally native, cloud-based firms, such as FinTechs and BigTechs, with agile incumbent banks following fast. Many incumbents, weighed down by tech and culture debt, could lag in AI adoption, losing market share.”

The report also noted that a move to a “bot-powered world” also raises issues dealing with compliance, security, regulation and ethics.

“Since AI models are known to hallucinate and create information that does not exist, organizations run the risk of AI chatbots going fully autonomous and negatively affecting the business financially or its reputation,” Citi said.

Other industries with a high potential for automation, the report said, include insurance (46%), capital markets (40%) and energy (43%).

Citi’s report follows one earlier this year from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which contended that the impact of AI will be especially pronounced on advanced economies.

While about 40% of global employment is exposed to AI, around 60% of jobs in advanced economies could be impacted by the technology, as it tends to affect high-skilled jobs.

“While half of these jobs may benefit from AI integration, the other half may see key tasks currently performed by humans being executed by AI applications, potentially resulting in lower labor demand, reduced wages and decreased hiring,” PYMNTS wrote. “In some cases, certain jobs may even disappear,”

Meanwhile, PYMNTS recently examined the way technology such as AI and automation are increasingly combining to help CFOs amid a shortage of accountants.

“AI and ML are transforming everything treasury, it’s the equivalent of the Industrial Revolution 4.0,” Jarrett Bruhn, managing director and head of data and AI in global transaction services at Bank of America, told PYMNTS. “When you think of what a treasurer does, trying to find operational and cost efficiencies, these tools and technologies fundamentally change how they can do their daily job.”