Is it people who want more artificial intelligence, or is it really businesses driving the economy towards more AI?
Some recent pieces of research lead us to ponder this question to open this week’s AI & Finance roundup. The first, from a Gallup Panel web survey conducted as part of the 2024 Bentley University-Gallup Business in Society Report, found that Americans are “wary” about how AI is being used, especially in workplaces. 
A majority of Gallup’s respondents, 56%, felt that AI had a net neutral effect on society, causing as much harm as it does good. Yet more twice as many people felt AI’s harms outweighed its benefits (31%) than felt its benefits outweighed its drawbacks (13%). Three-quarters of respondents said AI will reuce the number of jobs in the country over the next decade, and 77% do not trust businesses to use AI responsibly (44% did not trust businesses much to use it responsibly, 33% did not trust them to use AI at all).
Yet employers time and again have expressed zeal for AI. Just this week, a Datos Insights survey sponsored by Elevate found that huge majorities of large employers are implementing or plan to implement AI to help manage human resources and employee benefits. 85% want to use or already use AI features in consumer-directed healthcare accounts like HSAs and FSAs.
Datapoints in the recent past include findings published in the 2024 Annual Work Trend Index released a month ago by Microsoft and LinkedIn that found nearly three-quarters of executives would prefer hiring applicants with artificial intelligence expertise over those with domain experience—basically, an entry-level applicant with AI knowledge could very well out-compete someone with a decade of experience for the same role.
Looking beyond concerns with the consumer, who may or may not come to trust and embrace the new technology over time, businesses who want to successfully implement artificial intelligence need their employees to trust not just that AI will do its job—and not theirs—but that their employers have good intentions with the technology.
That brings us back to the Bentley-Gallup research. The authors argue that businesses must not only educate employees and consumers about AI, but they also need to be transparent and clear about how and why they are using the technology at every turn.
Let’s get to some AI and Finance headlines.
READ ON…
1. AlphaTrAI
AlphaTrAI, a provider of tech-enabled services for the wealth and asset management industries, added Robert Marsh as Head of Asset Management Technology Services and Matthew Higgins as Head of Compliance Consulting Technology. The firm has also announced financial services stalwarts John L. (Launny) Steffens, Catherine A. Saunders and Larry Anders have joined its Executive Advisory Council.
Rob Marsh brings over 30 years of broad experience in markets and investing to his new role. He spent 26 years at Tudor Investments, where he held various roles ranging from portfolio manager to strategist and developer. Over his 23 years at Putnam Investments, most recently as Chief Compliance Officer of Putnam Retail Management, Matt Higgins was on the front lines of developing Putnam’s policies and procedures and tech-enabled compliance tools to improve operating efficiencies. In addition, Mr. Higgins was responsible for overseeing global distribution compliance efforts for the firm.
Last week, AlphaTrAI acquired Anchor Advisory Services, a premier scheduling and sales management solutions provider for the financial services industry. Today’s announcement and its recent acquisition are part of AlphaTrAI’s strategic expansion to fulfill the demand for technology and AI-enabled solutions for wealth and asset management companies.
2. CLARA Analytics
Specialty property and casualty insurance carrier IAT Insurance Group has selected CLARA Analytics Claims Document Intelligence Pro (Claims DocIntel Pro) as its newest AI platform to support its auto and general liability claims process. Claims DocIntel Pro will be leveraged to help streamline processes, reduce costs, and eliminate errors across the IAT Insurance Group claims operations.
Purpose-built by and for claims professionals, Claims DocIntel Pro helps adjusters operate more efficiently and effectively by rapidly identifying bad faith doctrines, time-sensitive conditions, and key medical issues through a combination of best-in-class generative AI models with CLARA’s own proprietary AI tools. The product generates summaries based on salient details within claims, builds treatment timelines, and assesses the risk of claim escalation. It also alerts adjusters when action is needed. Because Claims DocIntel Pro’s models have been trained on CLARA’s large contributory database of closed claims, the product can deliver remarkably insightful recommendations based on millions of data points and a carrier’s own historical data.
IAT Insurance Group selected Claims DocIntel Pro to review legal demands and medical records for its auto and general liability claims because these often represent the highest cost centers with the greatest complexities. Relevant claim events can go unnoticed until well into the claim process, extending the life of the claim and the associated costs. With Claims DocIntel Pro, vital information is surfaced in a fraction of the time compared with existing solutions. This not only saves time but can also reduce losses by millions of dollars.
3. Cognitive Credit
Cognitive Credit announced that it has closed its latest funding round in 2Q24, a $10mm Series B raise led by ETFS Capital, with existing investor XTX Ventures also participating.
The Company will use the funding to expand into additional markets and continue enhancing its product offering, investing in algorithmic debt valuation and AI solutions for institutional investors.
Cognitive Credit counts the world’s leading asset managers, hedge funds, and investment banks as clients, including 100% of the top 10 global high yield league table banks. This Series B round brings the total amount of capital raised by Cognitive Credit to $25mm. Since its Series A capital raise in late 2021, the company has quadrupled its client base, more than doubled its internal team size, and increased ARR by over 7x.
4. Socure
Socure announced that Jordan Burris has been named Vice President and General Manager of Public Sector Solutions after serving as the company’s Head of Public Sector Strategy for the past two years.
In this executive leadership role, Burris will continue to accelerate Socure’s strong momentum in the public sector. He will lead Socure’s team that works with government agencies to eliminate taxpayer fraud losses and provide inclusive access to benefits and government services. Socure today partners with more than 30 federal and state government agency customers, including the State of California, the State of Texas, the State of New York, the State of Florida, Login.gov and beyond.
Burris has spent 15 years working to drive digital transformation in roles inside and outside the government. Prior to joining Socure, Burris served as the Chief of Staff in the White House Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer. He was responsible for orchestrating the execution of technology and cybersecurity efforts across two Presidential administrations including the oversight of the federal government’s multi-billion dollar technology budget.
5. Upstart
Fibre Federal Credit Union (Fibre Federal), a Washington-based credit union with over 118,000 members and over $1.6 billion in assets, has announced a new partnership with Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST), the leading artificial intelligence (AI) lending marketplace, to provide personal loans to new and existing members.
Fibre Federal Credit Union started lending as a partner on the Upstart Referral Network in December 2022. With the Upstart Referral Network, qualified personal loan applicants on Upstart.com who meet Fibre Federal’s credit policies will receive tailored offers as they seamlessly transition into a Fibre Federal-branded experience to complete the online member application and closing process.
6. WaveCX
WaveCX, provider of personalized, digital product engagement solutions for financial institutions, today announced the launch of Curator, an AI-driven generative search tool designed to bring clarity to complex banking documentation. Going beyond basic search functionality, Curator was created to meet the growing demand for a robust search solution capable of navigating extensive content libraries while powering an educational experience for financial institutions’ customers and employees.
Utilizing AI and semantic search, the Curator solution offers customizable indexing options of WaveCX’s content, enabling the provision of relevant and concise search results tailored to client-specific needs. Curator also extends to external sites, articles and documentation, effectively navigating a mix of sources to interpret and manage complex, conversational inquiries. The AI-based solution streamlines access to information by summarizing extensive content and simplifying data comprehension and retrieval, making it more manageable and user-friendly for an enhanced user experience.
With only 48% of consumers comfortable with the use of AI, Curator’s advanced NLP and ML technologies ensure accurate and reliable interactions, helping to alleviate concerns about the quality of AI-driven interactions.
