As the artificial intelligence debate moves from ‘should we implement AI’ to ‘how can we turn this into a system that we can manage over time’, the stakes are ramping up.
As highlighted by expert panellists, integrating AI into workflows and systems can offer a multitude of benefits, however challenges remain, with data quality and accessibility, as well as regulatory and compliance issues consistently surfacing as key concerns.
However, for the panellists the most important aspect that desks and teams should keep in mind is creating a unified framework for AI, that holds the role of the human trader at its very core.
Commenting on this, one speaker said: “AI is carrying a people transformation. We need to change people’s mindset and skills, with use cases and accountability. It’s all about working together in terms of thinking – how do I get my first use case, how do I scale it up as a team, how do I embed my workload.
“It should start with understanding. Some of us are technologists, but even from this lens, it’s complicated.”
With this in mind, discussions emphasised how integrating AI into workflows and trading architecture should be an evolution which supports many different sections of an organisation, spanning both internal workflows as well as client offerings.
This was highlighted by another panellist, who commented: “You need to think about having a reusable capability for all the different use cases in your organisation. Combine your AI platform with the data platform, and once you have this in place, you can then also start to build more powerful tools to put directly in the hands of your users, to let people experiment and see what they can with these tools.”
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This sentiment also aligns with the importance of ensuring that firms are implementing an organisation-wide AI strategy, to avoid unnecessary costs, and create effective direction surrounding how best to leverage this technology.
Building on this, discussions also honed in on the role of senior leadership, emphasising that AI-related communication should be spearheaded from the top of firms, such as from chief executives, so that traders and market participants can fully understand how they can make the most of any new AI capabilities landing on their desks.
“You cannot have random teams doing their own solutions because that is very expensive, and you won’t reap the benefits that you think you will,” asserted one expert.
“You need direction and strategy. Then you need to bring the people along on that journey with you. AI is a tool – it’s not just going to take over everyone’s jobs. It’s a tool to be leveraged and having that communication from the top is really important.”
With data challenges, as well as compliance concerns and organisational alignment appearing as core aspects of the AI revolution that industry participants must be aware of, the message from the panellists was consistent – firms must think holistically about AI.
Reflecting on this importance, one expert summarised: “The transition to AI is comparable to electricity in terms of how much it is going to impact the world. The firms that can recognise that this is going to be such a game changer and have an innovation culture within their business will be the ones that win out.”