AI, Data, and the Cloud – Connectivity, Innovation, and Generating Value in Financial Services

This IIF Staff Paper discusses the interplay between artificial intelligence (AI), data, and the cloud. We note increasing complexity of the value chain between AI developer, deployer, user as well as accompanying policy matrix complexity faced by both private and public sectors. Artificial Intelligence (AI), data, and cloud are inexorably intertwined and together they are delivering significant value across the financial services ecosystem. The advent of Generative AI is both accelerating adoption of AI tools and presenting new challenges for governance and oversight. The financial industry has extensive experience managing the sorts of third-party risks presented by complex AI services, though AI continues to grow increasingly complex. Technology solutions have been explored to address the issues in classical AI and might illustrate pathways for GenAI in financial services. The underlying infrastructure and supply chains for AI are important to understand for business and policy considerations in financial services, particularly the role of cloud services in AI. The public sector has as much opportunity to use AI—to transform their operations, efficiency, and to add value in the financial services ecosystem—as does the financial industry. As long-time stewards of sensitive personal data and a user of cloud technology, the financial services industry is well placed to inform the development of transparency and trust building in the new age of generally applied AI. The industry has much to offer the broad policy effort and much at stake. 

IIF acknowledges the support of Amazon Web Services, Inc. in sponsoring the production of this report and in making their staff available to the IIF for discussion.