Senior-level executives in the finance industry, tech experts, and cutting-edge researchers gathered on campus last week for a conference on the importance of responsible AI in finance, exploring the opportunities and challenges artificial intelligence presents to the sector. Central to the conversation were the themes of transparency, fairness, and accountability as companies integrate this immensely powerful technology.

The event, hosted by the Notre Dame-IBM Technology Ethics Lab—a key component of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good—and co-sponsored by the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, brought forth a clear message: AI can help tackle some of the most difficult problems in the finance industry, but it requires responsible deployment.

“Technology has to be transparent and explainable,” said Jim Kavanaugh, IBM’s chief financial officer, in his opening keynote. He emphasized AI’s potential to augment human capability, not replace it, and recommended that we “regulate the risk, not the algorithms.”

Discussions revolved around regulatory needs, ethical considerations, and AI’s true purpose in finance. Multiple panelists mentioned how domain-specific the ethical dimensions of AI end up being. Joe Atkinson, PwC's global chief AI officer, urged the industry to focus on the transformative potential of the burgeoning technology. He also highlighted the evolving role of CFOs, who now act as “change agents” using AI-driven insights to guide complex business decisions.

A highlight of the program was the Holistic Return on Investments in AI Ethics spotlight session where Notre Dame and IBM researchers discussed ongoing research targeted at helping leaders, including those in finance, assess the returns on AI ethics and governance investments.

“Investing in AI ethics is more than just compliance,” says Heather Domin, global leader of responsible AI initiatives at IBM. “It’s a strategic investment in the future.”

The HROE framework evaluates returns beyond financial gains, incorporating economic, reputational, and capability dimensions in order to provide a broader view of AI’s impact.

AI's contribution to economic growth was also emphasized, with some estimates indicating that generative AI alone could add trillions to the global economy. Yet achieving this potential will require a cultural shift that aligns AI with shared values.

Establishing an internal cross-functional team devoted to exploring the ethics surrounding specific use cases can help companies navigate the risks and opportunities associated with these technologies. Christina Montgomery, chief privacy and trust officer for IBM, cited instances where her company’s AI Ethics Board, which she co-chairs, has been pivotal in guiding “decisions about where we're going to deploy technology and where we're not,” keeping IBM’s values and principles at the forefront of the conversation.

Another critical dimension is the data being used to teach the models powering generative AI. Here, collaboration between research and industry will be transformative. “I think the right answer is partnership,” said Jeff Rhoads, Notre Dame’s vice president for research. He pointed to the AWS facility currently being built nearby: “Six miles west of here, you can watch the largest data center in the country being assembled right now … if you think about what Notre Dame could do in partnership with a partner like that, it looks a little bit different than what we can do alone.”

There is also a need for greater AI literacy at every level of the workforce. Todd C. Conklin, chief AI officer at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, stressed the importance of shared terminology and highlighted efforts underway to standardize AI vocabulary across the sector to facilitate a push for regulatory consistency.

As the program concluded, a sense of optimism tempered by caution emerged. “Our responsibility extends to how we mobilize and motivate our people,” said Kavanaugh, reflecting the program’s mission to channel AI’s power in ways that align innovation with core human values.

Meghan Sullivan, Notre Dame’s director of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good and the campus-wide Ethics Initiative, underscored the promise of continued collaboration between academia and industry.

“We emerge from this event hopeful and connected,” she said, “with a clearer path forward for ongoing partnerships in responsible AI.”

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The Notre Dame–IBM Technology Ethics Lab, a critical component of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good and the Notre Dame Ethics Initiative, promotes interdisciplinary research and policy leadership in technology ethics and is supported by a $20 million investment from IBM.

Originally published by Tech Ethics Lab at ethics.nd.edu on November 12, 2024.