This week in AI and Finance we have to ask a question—though we acknowledge that we might be asking it prematurely:
Where are all the deepfakes?
It’s the middle of August in an election year in the United States—the first presidential election year in which sophisticated generative artificial intelligence is broadly available—and so far AI has yet to make a dent in the political situation. Recall that earlier in the year concerns were voiced that AI-generated deepfakes might be used to shake up the race.
It’s also the third year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing war, and 11th month of Israel’s invasion of Gaza and war with Hamas amid escalating tensions across the Middle East region. Given the ways in which participants in these conflicts have attempted to manipulate video and images to create positive narratives for themselves, one would expect AI-generated media to proliferate.
But it really hasn’t–at least, not in a way that is fooling governments, news organizations and other actors.
Yes, social media hoaxes continue to fool suckers, and technology is being used to lampoon public figures much in the way that celebrities impersonate presidential candidates and public officials on Saturday Night Live and other television shows.
Yes, there have been deep-fake robocalls that have also hooked in some people—but fake robocalls are not a new phenomenon, they’re a decades-old dirty trick. The only difference is that now they’re being created with a new technology. Also, most of the faked robocalls out there aren’t trying to influence people’s vote—they’re trying to get people’s money.
Thus far generative AI is not being used seriously for digital terrorism or other nefarious political purposes.
Of course, the election year isn’t over yet.
Let’s get to some AI & Finance headlines.
This week we have 14 AI and Finance headlines from across the financial and technology industries, including items from Accuity Knowledge Partners, Experian, Wolters Kluwer, NICE and Truist.
READ ON…..
1. Acuity Knowledge Partners
Acuity Knowledge Partners (Acuity), a leading provider of high-value research, analytics and business intelligence solutions to the financial services sector, today launched its groundbreaking large language model-based (LLM) credit risk governance solution, CreditPulse.
Acuity is a trusted partner for lending institutions. It works with over 250 financial services firms, helping them drive process standardisation, improve credit risk practices and deliver data insights for their portfolio.
CreditPulse is designed to empower analysts to leverage generative artificial intelligence (AI) and help them identify emerging portfolio risks. To harness the power of data and reporting, it can integrate seamlessly with existing tech stacks at financial institutions, resulting in improved data interpretation and visualisation. This cutting-edge platform enables financial institutions to accelerate their credit lifecycle processes and achieve a 25 – 30% efficiency boost.
2. Arche Capital
Seasoned blockchain founders have joined to launch Arche Capital Management LLC (“Arche Capital” or the “Firm”), a new investment manager focused on financing and guiding early-stage entrepreneurs, companies and infrastructure projects in the financial services sector. The Firm’s strategy and investment thesis is guided by deep experience in financial services infrastructure, blockchain, artificial intelligence (Al), and zero-knowledge (ZK) proof technology.
Spearheaded by co-founders and general partners Vanessa Grellet and William Wolf, Arche Capital leverages over 30 years of technical and commercial expertise in blockchain, AI, and financial services. The Firm is dedicated to investing in and nurturing early-stage entrepreneurs and long-term infrastructure projects. As a boutique firm, Arche Capital has the autonomy to invest in high-potential startups, becoming a part of their journey and co-leading towards their goals, rather than focusing on an early exit.
To achieve broader adoption, Arche Capital believes blockchain projects must address key challenges including scalability, privacy, interoperability, security, and regulatory uncertainty. The Arche Capital team offers unique insights into how blockchain technology can transform financial services and provides support to Web3 founders. This assistance goes beyond just financial contributions, and helps emerging companies navigate the evolving landscape.
3. Blue J
Blue J, the leader in generative artificial intelligence (AI) for tax experts, is pleased to announce today that they have expanded their relationship with RSM US LLP (“RSM”), the leading provider of assurance, tax, and consulting services for the middle market. RSM will expand its footprint with Blue J by implementing Ask Blue J into its tax practice.
Ask Blue J, launched in 2023, accelerates the adoption of generative AI for tax through an extensive curated database of current US primary and secondary tax content, including news and commentary from Tax Notes.
4. Box
Box, Inc. (NYSE: BOX), the leading Intelligent Content Cloud, today announced its acquisition of the AI-powered, intelligent document processing (IDP) technology of Alphamoon. This strategic move, along with Box’s recent acquisition of Crooze, a leading provider of no-code enterprise content management applications, significantly expands the Box Intelligent Content Management (ICM) platform. The acquisition further enhances the power of Box AI to automate document-related tasks and extract valuable metadata from critical business content across a variety of industries.
Alphamoon’s technology combines leading large language models (LLMs) with proprietary OCR and document processing technology to intelligently structure documents at scale. Once fully integrated with Box, Alphamoon’s technology will further expand the capabilities of the Box AI platform to revolutionize intelligent data processing.
Alphamoon’s technology for document extraction and metadata will be seamlessly integrated into Box and these enhancements will enable customers to tackle a number of use cases and projects with wide-ranging benefits, like enhancing industry-specific processes, such as analyzing clinical studies in life sciences or financial documents in the financial services sector.
5. Cacheflow
Cacheflow launched its Revenue Recognition product in partnership with APPropoz REVvue to provide software companies with a completely integrated quote-to-cash and revenue recognition solution.
Maintaining revenue recognition schedules manually can be time-consuming and error-prone. With this partnership, software companies will be able to manage their contracts, subscriptions, and billing in Cacheflow and automate revenue recognition seamlessly with REVvue in Salesforce.
6. Experian
Experian — the global data and technology company — announced today that it has acquired NeuroID, an industry leader in behavioral analytics. NeuroID’s modern and frictionless capabilities amplify Experian’s fraud risk suite by providing a new layer of insight into digital behavioral signals and analytics observed for both new and returning users throughout the customer lifecycle, including account openings, logins and transactions.
NeuroID’s behavioral analytics solutions are available now through CrossCore® on the Experian Ascend Technology Platform™ as a key fraud-detection capability. Experian’s identity verification and fraud prevention solutions helped clients avoid an estimated $15 billion in fraud losses globally last year. With NeuroID seamlessly integrated into Experian, clients can use one service provider to proactively monitor and analyze a user’s real-time digital behavior (for example, how they navigate a form and enter information).
The emergence of generative AI-driven fraud has motivated companies across industries from financial services to healthcare and e-commerce to seek new types of fraud-detection technology, such as behavioral analytics, within their originations and account management fraud strategies. Insights from behavioral analytics help mitigate fraud in real time and prevent identity theft, account takeover, bot attacks, next-generation bot attacks and fraud rings — empowering businesses to provide a seamless customer experience.
7. Foundant Technologies
Foundant Technologies and SmartSimple Software, two leading providers of grants and philanthropic management software, are thrilled to announce their merger, creating the leading global software partner for grant management. This strategic partnership will amplify their strengths, resources, and expertise to offer unparalleled solutions to the philanthropic and grants management communities.
The merger of Foundant Technologies and SmartSimple Software signifies a significant milestone in the evolution of grants and philanthropic management software. By joining forces, the companies will leverage their combined technological innovations, industry knowledge, and customer-centric approaches to deliver enhanced products and services. This includes continued advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency, accuracy, and user experience.
To fuel growth, the merged entity plans to accelerate hiring across all departments and expand its teams to support innovation, enhance customer experience, and scale global operations.
8. Mbanq
Global banking technology and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider, Mbanq, announces its partnership with SMEApprove, a leading provider of Credit Decisioning-as-a-Service (CDaaS) to organizations that lend to the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector. The collaboration improves the accuracy, speed, and efficiency of SME credit evaluations for Mbanq’s client platforms through the implementation of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
SMEApprove’s AI and machine learning technology delivers increased accuracy in credit decisions to help reduce the risk of defaults. It also streamlines the credit decisioning process and allows lenders to process loan applications much faster.
The platform integrates simply and seamlessly with existing credit decisioning systems and takes full advantage of modern AI capabilities. It also includes a library of credit-risk predictors and preconfigured features, making it easier for lending teams to substantially enhance existing algorithms for lending product underwriting. Importantly, the AI-enabled platform adheres to lending regulations, ensuring compliance and fairness throughout the credit decisioning process.
9. NICE
NICE Actimize, a NICE (NASDAQ: NICE) business, today announced the introduction of SURVEIL-X Behavior, the newest AI-powered solution in its market-leading SURVEIL-X Holistic Employee Conduct Surveillance suite. In addition to its surveillance coverage for markets, communications, sales practices & suitability, and conflicts of interest, NICE Actimize’s SURVEIL-X now provides financial services firms insights into employee behavior across numerous dimensions so firms can proactively identify the driving factors behind conduct risk.
Among SURVEIL-X Behavior’s critical capabilities, the solution alerts managers on certain thresholds, such as not completing compliance training or being the subject of excessive customer complaints. Through awareness and understanding of these sources of risk, managers can take preventative action, such as coaching or re-training an employee, enacting new policies, launching an investigation, or putting an employee or department under heightened supervision.
At a firm’s discretion, NICE Actimize’s Behavior solution allows certain factors to be weighted more heavily in the aggregate score. Risk scores are presented on a visual dashboard, and managers can drill down to view underlying contributing factors. SURVEIL-X Behavior’s dashboards and automated reporting provide insight into areas of concern for individual employees, departments, divisions and teams, and the organization as a whole.
10. Options Technology
Options Technology, a trailblazer in capital markets infrastructure, today announced the expansion of its Toronto office. The expansion is part of Options’ strategic growth in North America and demonstrates the firm’s continued commitment to its clients and partners across the Canadian financial markets.
The new office, at 141 Adelaide Street W, is situated in the center of Toronto’s financial district, giving even closer proximity to clients and partners, and enhancing the firm’s ability to deliver innovative solutions to its clients across the global capital markets.
With over a decade of experience in foreign exchange technologies and E-trading platforms, Robert Strawbridge, VP Head of Canada, has been instrumental in driving Options’ success in the region. His deep knowledge of the industry and vision have helped establish the business as a key player in Toronto’s vibrant financial technology landscape.
11. Snorkel AI
Snorkel AI announced today a new strategic agreement with BNY (NYSE: BK) to provide the global financial services company with software, expertise and insights that help turn unstructured data into actionable insights and solutions for clients.
Snorkel AI has been at the forefront of the transformation of AI data development – helping companies move from legacy manual efforts to a programmatic approach for more affordable, scalable and secure AI model creation.
12. Socure
Socure, the leading provider of artificial intelligence for digital identity verification, sanctions screening, and fraud prevention, today announced Selfie Reverification – a way to validate return consumers online with a simple selfie from any device in under 2 seconds.
The Selfie Reverification capability matches an incoming selfie with the previously verified ID headshot photo submitted during onboarding with a 99.9% true match rate. The scan also detects signs of a deepfake, as well as age discrepancy between the photo and the credential, to ensure the user is the rightful account holder.
Socure’s Selfie Reverification builds on the company’s market-leading Document Verification (DocV) product, which captures and validates photo IDs at onboarding with a 99% first-time selfie photo capture success rate, 98% accuracy in liveness detection, and a true acceptance rate of 98.2%.
13. Truist
Truist Financial Corporation announced that Steve Hagerman will be its new chief information officer. Hagerman will join Truist on Oct. 28, reporting to Chairman & CEO Bill Rogers. Based at Truist headquarters in Charlotte, Hagerman will lead the enterprise technology team, shaping and executing a strategic vision for the bank’s technology future, including key areas like data and analytics, AI, information security, technology transformation, and more.
Hagerman has more than 25 years of experience, primarily in the financial services industry. Most recently, he served as CIO for consumer technology, chief technology officer, and head of consumer lending technology at Wells Fargo. Previously, he held senior leadership positions at JPMorgan Chase and served in the United States Marine Corps. He is a graduate of Franklin University and the Wharton Executive Education Program.
14. Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions has launched OneSumX® Reg Manager for insurers to help small to medium-sized U.S. insurance carriers bolster their regulatory change management efforts. This artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solution, underpinned by NILS INsource® regulatory content, represents the latest addition to the Wolters Kluwer OneSumX portfolio suite, a trusted, award-winning product line designed to help financial institutions across the U.S. more effectively navigate regulatory change.
OneSumX Reg Manager features an automated, structured data feed of regulatory content from all relevant U.S. state and federal regulatory agencies—including AI-enabled authoritative source libraries and updates supported by a deep bench of Wolters Kluwer compliance expertise. Its automated tracking functionality helps organizations identify regulatory changes, map them to the appropriate lines of business, and monitor the implementation of relevant changes in a manner that documents and helps mitigate an insurer’s overall compliance risk, without the lengthy and expensive implementation of other regulatory change software.
Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions is a market leader and trusted provider of risk management and regulatory compliance solutions and services to U.S. insurers, banks, credit unions, and securities firms. The business sits within the Wolters Kluwer Financial & Corporate Compliance (FCC) division and helps these financial institutions efficiently manage risk and regulatory compliance obligations, and gain the insights needed to focus on better serving their customers and growing their business.
