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Generative AI in the World of Finance

The field of finance and financial technology is undergoing a massive revolution, and much of this is thanks to the impact of “generative artificial intelligence” (GAI).

This technology has a wide range of applications in the financial sector, including fraud detection, risk assessment, and portfolio management. However, as we continue to embrace AI in finance, we must also be cognizant of the ethical considerations that come with it. From data privacy to algorithmic bias, there are many potential pitfalls that must be carefully navigated to ensure that this technology benefits society as a whole.

As the world becomes increasingly reliant on artificial intelligence, it is more important than ever to consider the role of ethics in this field. This is particularly true for Generative AI (GAI) used in finance, as there are serious consequences if this technology is used improperly. Given the potential for generative artificial intelligence to be used for fraudulent purposes, misinformation, and even propaganda, or to unfairly impact vulnerable populations, it is essential that ethical considerations be prioritized in the development and deployment of this technology. By doing so, we can ensure that GAI is used to benefit society as a whole while minimizing potential harm.

As the capabilities of GAI continue to expand and improve, there is a growing concern about the concept of “hallucination” in artificial intelligence. Essentially, this refers to the possibility that GAI systems may begin to generate false or inaccurate results due to errors in their programming or machine learning algorithms. This could have serious implications in the realm of finance, where even small errors or miscalculations could have a significant impact. Therefore, it is important for coders, developers and users of GAI to take measures to prevent these so-called “hallucinations” and ensure the accuracy and reliability of these systems.

The impact of chatbots powered by GPT in the world of finance has been staggering. These intelligent agents have revolutionized customer service, streamlining routine inquiries and freeing up human representatives to tackle more complex issues. Chatbots have also been used to improve financial literacy, providing users with personalized advice and insights. However, it is important to note that chatbots are not flawless and must be monitored to ensure that they provide accurate and unbiased information.

Chatbots – powered by Generative AI – are increasingly being used in finance for a variety of tasks, such as customer service and fraud detection. They offer benefits such as 24/7 availability and improved response times while also reducing labor costs. However, it is important that these chatbots are developed ethically and transparently to ensure that they are not used to exploit minorities, vulnerable customers or perpetuate biases. This requires designing algorithms that are trained on diverse datasets and regularly audited to identify and address any ethical or biases concerns.

These ultra-efficient chatbots are rapidly changing the landscape of finance, from providing customer support services to generating personalized investment advice. With the help of ChatGPT, chatbots are able to understand and learn from customer interactions, providing more accurate and efficient responses over time. However, it is important to consider the prevalent concerns surrounding the use of chatbots in finance, such as ethical, privacy and security issues. As the use of chatbots in finance continues to expand, it is crucial to establish ethical guidelines and regulations to ensure that they are being used for the benefit of customers and the industry as a whole.

In addition to chatbots, there is also potential for the expanded use of Generative AI in the financial industry. This technology has the ability to analyze large amounts of financial data, and generate insights and predictions based on that analysis. This could greatly improve investment decision-making and risk management for financial institutions. However, it is important to consider the ethical implications of using generative artificial intelligence in finance in order to ensure that safeguards and guidelines are in place to prevent unintended consequences or biases.

As artificial intelligence continues to advance, the potential applications of Generative AI in finance are increasingly promising. With the ability to generate human-like responses to complex financial inquiries, GPT-powered chatbots could greatly enhance customer service and improve efficiency within financial institutions. These systems could also be utilized for risk assessment and fraud detection, helping to prevent financial crime and minimize economic damage. Again, it is important to approach these applications with caution and prioritize ethical considerations and privacy safeguards to ensure that GPT is used for the benefit of society as a whole.

The latest trend in using GPT in fintech involves the development of personalized financial advice platforms. By utilizing GPT to analyze an individual’s financial data and spending habits, these platforms can generate customized investment recommendations and highlight areas for potential cost savings. Additionally, chatbots powered by GPT can provide real-time financial advice and help customers make informed decisions about their finances. While these applications have great potential to improve financial literacy and promote better financial practices, it is important to consider the potential risks and ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect user data as well privacy rights.

When it comes to utilizing chatbots in fintech, there are several noteworthy trends emerging. One is the use of personalized chatbots for financial planning and advice. These chatbots use ChatGPT to provide customized guidance and investment strategies, tailored to the specific needs of the individual customer. Another trend is the increased use of chatbots in the lending process, from initial application through underwriting and approval. As chatbots become more prevalent in finance, there is great potential for the integration of GPT technology. GPT-powered chatbots could assist financial advisors in analyzing large amounts of data to provide more comprehensive and personalized recommendations to clients. With the ability to process natural language, GPT chatbots could also enhance the customer experience by providing more natural and responsive communication. Notwithstanding the benefits of excellent customer service, careful consideration must be given to the training data used to train these systems, as biased or incomplete data could result in discriminatory or harmful advice.

The addition of GPT technology into chatbots in the financial industry not only improves the customer experience but also increases overall productivity while reducing operational costs and human errors. With GPT’s natural language processing abilities, chatbots can seamlessly interact with customers at a fraction of the cost of human employees. Furthermore, GPT’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data allows these chatbots to make recommendations quickly and accurately, reducing the time it takes for customers to receive financial advice. By reducing the risk of human error, these chatbots can also increase accuracy in the lending process, resulting in more successful loan approvals.

The integration of Generative AI in finance can bring about significant advantages. One such benefit is the reduction of operational costs. By using automated chatbots powered by GPT, financial institutions can cut down on the number of employees required for certain tasks, ultimately saving on labor costs. Additionally, using GPT chatbots can help to reduce human error, leading to higher accuracy in financial forecasts and reports.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies such as ChatGPT can significantly benefit the financial sector by reducing operational costs, minimizing human errors, and ultimately increasing overall productivity. Integrating GPT-powered chatbots in the routine operational tasks of financial institutions can automate tedious tasks such as verifying customers’ identities and facilitating payments. This can free up human capital to tackle more complex jobs that require critical thinking and decision-making abilities. Additionally, these chatbots can work around the clock without breaks making customer access to services available 24/7.

In conclusion, Generative AI is revolutionizing the world of finance by providing cutting-edge AI and machine learning solutions that improve decision-making, enhance customer experience, and facilitate the development of personalized financial products. Its immense potential to analyze vast amounts of data, automate complex tasks, and provide valuable insights has greatly contributed to reshaping the industry’s landscape. As technology advances, we can expect an even greater impact from Generative AI on various aspects of finance, paving the way for a more efficient and innovative financial ecosystem.

Generative AI’s continual advancement will lead to exciting new discoveries that will only strengthen its impact on the financial landscape, making it an essential component in the financial sector’s future success.

Rethink Your Digital Future is a specialised FinTech consultancy that helps organisations develop and implement digital strategies that deliver outstanding value to their customers by integrating technology with artificial intelligence.

rethinkdigitaluk@gmail.com

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Centralizing the DeFi

CBDC vs. Crypto

No matter how much anyone might love Bitcoin or crypto and for what it stands – no central authority or control – the fact is that just about everyone will prefer a government backed CBDC that is legal tender than a corporate crypto like Circle.

CBDC are government-backed, legal tender and on par 1-to-1 with a national currency that is already used as everyday money and is generally considered as a point-of-reference to purchasing power and value. Simply put, a one US dollar note will be exactly as one CBDC/Digital Dollar, soon-to-be-issued by the US Federal Reserve, according to ”Project Hamilton”, which is a joint exploration by the Federal Reserve and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Digital Currency Initiative.

According to CBDCtracker.org, the first ever nationwide  functional CBDC is the “Sand Dollar” of the Bahamas, followed by the 2021 launch and imminent roll out early 2022 of Jamaica’s “Jam-DEX” (https://cbdctracker.org). Around the same time in October 2021, Nigeria launched their CBDC by the name eNaira, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, backed by law and legal tender in Nigeria.

The Digital Yuan is still in the pilot phase – currently available in 23 cities and used by a fifth of the Chinese population – but it has proven to be functional so far. Unlike CBDC standards, it is not a blockchain-based decentralized ledger (DLT) but rather a “centralized” CBDC, issued and supervised by the “People’s Bank of China” (China’s Central Bank).

Bitcoin is legendary; the first crypto that rose from obscurity to the most used crypto of all times as well as dominating 50% plus of the crypto market cap, pushing it to $3 trillion sometime in November 2021. The disadvantage of Bitcoin – or any crypto for that matter – is being unregulated, unstable and volatile in value. Even “stable-coins” have not lived up to their name. TerraUSD which was pegged nearly exactly to the US$, crashed this year on May 9th, taking along its sister coin Luna. The reverberations of this stable-coin implosion will be felt for many years to come by crypto investors that lost all their money and regulators that are now more scrutinizing and reluctant to regulate crypto, giving preference to their national and government-backed fiat money.

But even crypto diehards – and they will never admit – always instantly calculate their crypto holdings in “fiat money”, that is, real everyday cash because 1 Bitcoin can/could be anywhere from $1 to $1 million (if we are to listen to the prophets and prophecies of doom or gloom). If we look back at the double digit swings of just the past 5 years, Bitcoin was valued a mere $1,000 in January 2017 and then peaked at $68,790 on 7th of November 2021, currently bouncing around the $20,000 level.

The problem with Bitcoin and any crypto is that it’s very volatile and cannot really be “tempered”, it’s mostly subject to the wild swings of supply and demand, and that’s it. Macroeconomic factors such as GDP, inflation or unemployment figures, don’t really play a role in Bitcoin’s price movements, except for bad news. War in Ukraine, cost-of-living, food and energy crises might push the Bitcoin price up or down, depending on the short-lived rationality of contributing factors. It will then either spike as a temporary “safe-haven” for capital as a “value store”, or crumble due to negative press coverage or government press releases in relation to crypto regulation. Most cryptos then follow in tandem, if Bitcoin is down, you can be sure that Ethereum, Tether, XRP, USDC, Cardano, Solana, etc. will be down as well, like brothers in a brotherhood or soldiers in a battle.

For those who are not really familiar with crypto or Bitcoin, should know that there are many HODL’ers (hold-on-for-dear-life) that hold on to their crypto’s for the long term, only selling when the time is right, when there is massive breakout or astronomical spike like for example Dogecoin, a “joke” crypto that started in 2013 and has since increased in value by a mind-boggling 33400% (yes, that’s 33.4 thousand percent, just to be clear).

The official title for mega Bitcoin HODL’ers is “Bitcoin Whales” because they own so much crypto, they can actually make crypto markets move, along with their “partners-in-crime”, the Bitcoin mining companies. There’s just a vested interest by both to “manipulate” the value of Bitcoin which, for Bitcoin Whales means more money, and for miners, more mining and much more money as well. Currently, the cost of mining one Bitcoin is estimated by JP Morgan to be around $13,000, well below the current selling price of around $20,000 per Bitcoin.

“As long as the price of Bitcoin holds above this cost, a mining operation remains profitable, and many market observers suggest that production costs also can serve as the lower bound of Bitcoin’s price range in a bear market”

Copyright – Decrypt – article dated July 16th 2022

https://decrypt.co/105251/how-much-does-cost-mine-1-bitcoin

JP Morgan strategists, led by Nikolaos Panigirtoglou wrote:

“While clearly helping miners’ profitability and potentially reducing pressures on miners to sell Bitcoin holdings to raise liquidity or for deleveraging, the decline in the production cost might be perceived as negative for the Bitcoin price outlook going forward”.

It is not to say that al Bitcoin whales and miners are criminal, it’s just that by colluding and collaborating, the price of Bitcoin can somehow be influenced and controlled.

CBDC – Central Bank Digital Currency – are issued by Central banks and currently there are well over 100 countries and more than 90% of the world’s Central Banks contemplating, exploring and piloting the viability of CBDCs. At the centre of CBDC issuance is control, regulation, privacy, data and even more importantly, the very survival of the legacy banks and banking systems in the first place. If everyone can just deposit their money with government for free, who needs banks that can charge fees – ranging anywhere from reasonable to exorbitant – for banking and financial transactions?

 CBDCs are defined as “programmable money” that could be used as an instant “kill switch” at any time or simply controlled at will by any government with bad intentions. Sounds dystopian or far-fetched? Think again. In a revealing article published in the Guardian newspaper by Louisa Lim and Julia Bergin on the 28th of August, there’s proof of a deepening global trend towards government interference and  “digital authoritarianism” as governments use access to the internet as a weapon against their own people which can have huge ramifications in society and further afield in governance, freedom of press and liberty. As collateral damage, shutting down the internet can collapse healthcare (which is heavily dependent on accurate and real-time information) as well as instantly paralyze money, banking and finance such as preventing access to ATM cash (one of many examples). According to “Access Now” which is a NGO that tracks global connectivity, in 2021 alone there were 182 internet shutdowns in 34 countries with India leading the pack with 106 internet shutdowns, that’s more than the rest of the world combined. For the full story, please click on link:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/29/flicking-the-kill-switch-governments-embrace-internet-shutdowns-as-a-form-of-control

China is currently leading CBDC implementation and usage with their e-Yuan (a/k/a Digital Yuan) and their “Social Credit System” that enables the Chinese government to evaluate and determine “trustworthiness” of any individual, business or government institution, giving Chinese government the possibility to “whitelist” or even “blacklist” dissenters. Anywhere from restricting travel, to jobs’ access or even curtailing internet use by only allowing for “slow internet”; Who would have thought that a “slow internet” could be a form of punishment in the digital age?

It is somehow strange and controversial that China’s Communist Party – officially “The National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China” – the highest state organ of power consists of over 100 billionaires (in US$ terms). Surely, that kind of money did not come from hard work in agriculture or fishing, but more likely from massive industry production and more recently, tech entrepreneurship.

China is a hybrid communist/capital business model, depending largely on where you live and earn your living. Shenzhen, a small fishing village only a mere 40 years ago, has now become China’s Silicon Valley, home to tech giants such as Tencent. Beijing is home to Baidu and other tech companies that are proliferating across the Chinese tech landscape as the Chinese government is gradually moving away from export production to a service economy with a strong focus on tech.

Much to the dislike of the Americans, China is gradually catching up on GDP and is expected to overtake the United States as the biggest economy of the world (projected to be sometime around 2030), a revered position held by the Americans since the 1920s (in GDP terms), and strengthened/consolidated ever since 1890 when it overtook the British Empire as the world’s most productive economy.

Sometime in September 2017, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of Wall Street powerhouse JP Morgan, called Bitcoin a “fraud”. Just about 3 months later, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of nearly $20,000 and then crashed shortly thereafter which resulted in the first ever “crypto winter”. Ever since Jamie’s Bitcoin takedown (and many others that followed), he has flip-flopped between love and hate for Bitcoin, at times bashing crypto and then regretting his statements in mainstream media.

JP Morgan in the meanwhile has built up a sizeable presence in crypto and digital assets with crypto trading desks strategically operating in different parts of the world in order to take advantage of crypto movements in value, but more importantly, to be at the forefront of decentralized finance and blockchain technology advancements. Through their wholly-owned subsidiary Onyx, launched in 2020 and led by CEO Umar Farooq, who is also the JPM Global Head of Financial Institution Payments, JP Morgan is aiming to strengthen its position in the crypto world and has in the meantime launched its own JP Morgan Coin.

Onyx is a J.P. Morgan business unit that leverages cutting-edge technologies like Blockchain to develop innovative products, platforms and marketplaces.

Copyright 2022 – JP Morgan/Onyx homepage

https://www.jpmorgan.com/onyx/about.htm

Apart from the formidable JP Morgan, many Wall Street banks and financial institutions are joining the crypto, blockchain and decentralized finance trend, applying legacy banking combined with existing financial networks to be at the forefront of DeFi, when that becomes a functional reality. At present however, DeFi is cumbersome and complicated, with UX being deplorable and substandard. Accessing DeFi and crypto wallets requires tech literacy, long alphanumeric keys, recovery passphrases (hand-written on ordinary paper), hot or cold storage, etc.

Coinbase and Binance are two major digital exchanges and crypto trading platforms that are making big improvements in crypto user-friendliness and the entire customer experience so that many more retail investors can access, trade and store their crypto, digital assets and NFTs. Big banks on their part are jumping on the crypto bandwagon, however their focus is more on institutional and corporate clients, dealing primarily in transactions that are in the $millions and $billions.

Whatever happens on the regulatory front, crypto is here to stay and Bitcoin will never go out of style, even if outlawed by the major economies of the world. There will always be Bitcoin and crypto trading, simply because it’s borderless and decentralized. No country, government or authority can control crypto, only make it illegal to own, trade or hold should that ever be the case or become law. The counter to crypto is CBDC, and that’s the most compelling reason that Central Banks around the world are exploring and experimenting with CBDCs.

Once CBDCs become mainstream, there will be widespread adoption of both CBDCs and crypto – specifically “stable-coins” – as then the functionality and secure payment format will have been proven, thus making it feasible as everyday money. 

The biggest unknown however, will governments eventually make crypto illegal? This question remains unanswered and disputed from every angle but then again, will governments around the world cede control to “borderless” crypto when their national CBDCs are fully functional and controlled? To be continued.

Centralized vs. Decentralized 

Centralizing the Decentralized is just about the only way forward as a “compromise” to ensure mainstream adoption of crypto and DeFi. Of course, crypto diehards will insist on their mantra that crypto is decentralized by default, there just cannot be any central authority in accordance with Satoshi’s view.

In theory perhaps, in reality not. Any dApp or decentralized platform will have some governance in the form of a company, authority or DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization).

In relation to a DAO, in legal terms and in a regulatory framework, who takes responsibility and/or is liable when things go wrong?

The coder, algorithm or both?

This dilemma opens up a big challenge to decentralized finance and the proliferation of DAO’s. In a world of trade, commerce and business, the law ensures that contracts and transactions follow a certain standard pattern of legality and any disputes can be argued over in court. Governments on their part have passed laws and enacted legislation to ensure that certain aspects are governed by law, in particular consumer protection. This is prevalent in banking, finance, insurance, commerce, retail, utilities, data protection, privacy and so on. The consumer is protected by default and laws ensure that the providers of services and goods are liable and subject to compensation and/or legal action. GDPR takes this to another level where fines are usually in the $millions and can easily escalate into the $billions. Big tech such as Google and Facebook are very aware of data breaches and anti-competitive practices, and they have been fined $billions to date.

Decentralized finance is “trustless”, meaning there’s no need for trust as it is coded into the blockchain protocol that underpins the transaction. For those who are not familiar, blockchain is digital ledger on world-wide networks of nodes where transactions get validated and are irreversible. In short, blockchain is tamper-proof, time-stamped and transparent.

The purpose of law in its simplest form is to ensure that everyone adheres to the same rules and regulations, creating a standard for interaction and trust.

Trust is crucial in any aspect of transaction, as it ensures that we get that what we bargained for or bought. Apart from barter, there is always a financial concept to any transaction, whether buying goods or services or simply donating to a good cause. The underlying aspect of any transaction is trust and therefore, the whole financial world values trust the most.

NFT and Digital Assets on Blockchain

Since 2020, NFT has become the buzzword of digital art and the entire NFT market has witnessed massive hyper-growth within a mere 2-year time span. And there is good reason for that, NFTs provide for digital rights, provenance and artists’ royalties in the same way as in the music industry for example. Every time artwork is sold as an NFT, the artist or creator thereof receives royalties in the form of a consistent crypto payout as embedded in the underlying smart contract. Unfortunately, there have been some issues and hick-ups with NFTs having been sold at world renowned auctions houses such as Christies where the NFT creator had access to code keys and thus the buyer did not own the NFT art exclusively and outright. Copies were made and sold pretty much illegally and that cast a doubt of trust in the entire NFT art market.

Strides have been made to counter this problem and even more effort has been canvassed in the art world for artists to be rewarded for their artwork perpetually through digital royalties coded in smart contracts on Ethereum. The argument is rather simple, if musicians are protected by copyrights for the music they created, why not artists – and their artworks – such as painters, sculptors or photographers (the ones that are not owned/contracted by Getty Images)?

Since digital art on blockchain – going by the distinctively unsexy name of “non-fungible token” – is currently in vogue, every effort is being made to solidify the regulatory framework surrounding NFTs, alas it’s not global yet. If anything, since blockchain is irreversible and thus prevents fraud, provenance of any digital artwork can be proven and the digital title of ownership confirmed in a court of law. The biggest challenge however, excluding NFTs, is connecting the art to the digital title. It’s almost impossible to embed a tracking device in a Picasso that links the painting to a digital title although many ingenious ways are currently being devised that will make it possible in the near future for art to be linked as proof of ownership to the pertinent artwork as the one specified in the digital title. As a comparison, diamonds are already being digitally certified on blockchain on base of the 4 main characteristics of cut, color, clarity, carat and other discerning characteristics such as price, provenance and specialist’s reports and certificates issued by trustworthy institutions such as the Gemological Institute of America.

Other digital assets on blockchain such as property, patents, copyrights, film and music rights, etc. present their own challenges which are currently being addressed by governments across the world. The key factor of global regulation is the standardization of tokens, as proposed by Berlin-based International Token Standardization Association (ITSA), and interoperability of blockchain, without which there cannot be a global framework for regulation and legal conformity.

In the world of FinTech and finance, there is a lot of talk as well as action on STO – Security Token Offering – which is similar to financial instruments such as shares, bonds and derivatives used in today’s financial world. The main difference is that there is a massive paper trail and back-end office admin with traditional finance which is not the case with STO’s, as all data is stored on DLT or blockchain (except for investor info and public disclosure via brochures, magazines, newspapers, white papers and other publications).

STO’s are the way forward in the digital world and the financial industry is making big strides to incorporate blockchain in all aspects of financial transactions.

On this point, it is important to note the difference between DLT and blockchain which is public, whereas DLT – Digital Ledger Technology – is private and permissioned, meaning that anyone wishing to join a particular DLT will have to request and be granted permission by the governing board or existing members.

In banking and finance, which always has been a closed and exclusive network of bankers, the most commonly used DLT is R3 Corda, widely recognized as the best-in-class DLT platform for banking and financial services.

https://www.r3.com/digital-currencies-hub/

DeFi is the exact opposite of CeFi – Centralized Finance – which means central control by its governance and participants, the bank and financial institutions that control the financial markets along with the Central banks, and many fringe or shadow organizations such as BIS – Bank for International Settlements – based in Basel, Switzerland that exert great influence and financial supervisory on policymaking and regulation of money, finance and banking.

The problem with DeFi is that it is in still nascent, underdeveloped, experimental and requires strong technological skills to navigate the dApps and coding functions of blockchain. Other factors and disadvantages are speed, scalability, complicated crypto wallets incorporating lengthy alphanumeric keys and developing a friendly user-interface.

Decentralized applications, commonly known as “dApps” are digital applications that run on blockchain protocol over a network of nodes (i.e. computers) as opposed to relying on a single computer mainframe or cloud structure, thus making dApps decentralized, free from control or interference by a central authority.

The vast majority of dApps use Ethereum and its smart contracts function to disrupt business models or invent new ones, and even that it is a growing movement of applications, there are not too many that have reached the convenience and usability states as big tech such as Google.

For all the above reasons, regulating digital assets on blockchain presents an ongoing challenge that slows the proliferation of “tokenization”, the new frontier in FinTech and finance.

Decentralized finance will become a reality, but it will be centralized at first, until mainstream adoption of crypto and CBDCs is global, and DeFi becomes convenient, user-friendly and prevalent in society.

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Impact Investing – Together, we can make a Difference

Simplifying impact investing

Climate change is increasingly at the forefront of our minds, impacting every aspect of our lives. With increasing frequency, natural disasters are affecting many parts of the world and in the process, damaging the global economy.

Recent drastic measures by many governments to reduce pollution and waste as well as to increase usage of renewable energy to achieve net zero-carbon targets, will not do enough within the desired time frame to achieve over-ambitious targets, agreed by the Paris Agreement in 2015. After COP26, the 2050 target has been brought forward to 2030, by which target many Industrial nations have signed up for.

The reality is that it will never be a “lightswitch” moment but rather gradual phase-down or phase-out of fossil fuels, the main polluting natural resources that contribute to greenhouse effects and climate change.

In the meantime, with increasing urgency, each and everyone of us needs to do their part and not wait for government action, or in some case, inaction.

Impact investing can become a form of investor activism by making companies aware of unacceptable pollution practices, covered up through greenwashing and slick PR.

Making companies accountable can be a catalyst to positive change in their corporate culture and behaviour, encouraging more sustainability efforts by those who pollute the most and those of which their zero-carbon targets and commitments are insufficient.

Impact investing puts the power in our hands, the people of the world that are affected by climate change.

Together, we can make a difference.

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The Corona Crash – and How to Survive and Thrive in the New Reality

There is no magic bullet to make the coronavirus go away, to restore the global economy, and live like 2020 never happened.

World leaders and everyone else have begun to realize the road back will be long, hard, and challenging, as the ripple effects of the pandemic have hit virtually every industry and will reverberate for years to come.

The Corona Crash explores the fallout from a virus that could not have come at a worse time – right as society is progressing toward a tech-dominated world where man is displaced by machine. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and robotics have already put strains on the global labor market, and the pandemic has added a new dynamic.

This book contains many nuggets of wisdom, distilled to its essence, delivered in bite-size chapters that are easy to read and understand. It’s not an easy quick-fix, it will just give you the needed information, mental tools and positive mind-set to thrive in this new reality.
The thoughts and ideas outlined in this book might not change the world, but it will definitely change your perception and priorities in life.

Written in a hard-hitting style, this book explores how we can cope with our new reality while providing a telescopic view of a future where technology impacts our lives in every imaginable way.

Get answers about the pandemic, the toll it has taken on the world, and how we can use it as an impetus to change our priorities and collective future.

Book release date – 15 December 2020

AUTHOR BIO:

Eleftherios Jerry Floros is an accomplished author, speaker and consultant on financial technology, cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, digital disruption, and the global economy. He is a contributing author of the bestselling books, The WealthTech Book, The PayTech Book, The LegalTech Book and The A.I. Book.

How ChatGPT4 will Revolutionise FinTech and Finance

copyright image 2023 – OpenAI

As artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to evolve, various industries are adopting these technologies in their daily operations, with the finance and financial technology (FinTech) sector being no exception. The rise of ChatGPT-4, an ultra-advanced AI-powered language model, has significantly impacted this sector on various levels. This article explores the transformative effects of ChatGPT-4 on the finance industry and how its integration into tools, products, and services will benefit both businesses and end-users.

Benefits for the Finance Industry:

  1. Improved Decision Making: With ChatGPT-4’s ability to analyze vast amounts of data quickly and accurately, financial institutions can make better-informed decisions, especially in areas such as investments, risk assessment, and resource allocation.
  2. Enhanced Automation: AI-driven chatbots like ChatGPT-4 enable financial organizations to automate repetitive tasks such as customer inquiries or transaction processing. This enhanced automation significantly reduces operational costs and human errors while increasing overall productivity.
  3. Fraud Detection & Prevention: ChatGPT-4 can analyze complex patterns in transactions to identify unusual or suspicious activity. This allows financial institutions to detect fraudulent activities proactively and potentially prevent significant losses.
  4. Personalized Financial Advice: Financial advisors can use ChatGPT-4’s capabilities to analyze clients’ individual circumstances and develop tailored financial plans that better serve their needs.
  5. Streamlined Regulatory Compliance: Leveraging AI in compliance management enables firms to keep up with changing regulations more effectively, reducing fines and penalties.

Benefits for End-users:

  1. Improved Customer Experience: By integrating ChatGPT-4 into customer support systems, businesses can provide instant, accurate responses to customer inquiries 24/7, thus enhancing their overall experience.
  2. Accessible Financial Education: With ChatGPT-4’s natural language processing capabilities, it becomes easier to impart financial knowledge and guidance to users in a more accessible and engaging manner.
  3. Customized Financial Services: ChatGPT-4-powered services can analyze user data to offer personalized banking, investment, and loan products that better serve individual needs.
  4. Increased Trust: By leveraging ChatGPT-4’s fraud detection and prevention capabilities, end-users can feel more secure when conducting transactions or relying on financial advice knowing that there are advanced protective measures in place.
  5. Time Savings: Enhanced automation driven by ChatGPT-4 allows end-users to complete processes such as loan applications or account openings more quickly and conveniently.

The integration of ChatGPT-4 into the finance and FinTech industries brings undeniable benefits for both financial organizations and end-users. As AI technology continues to advance, we can expect even greater improvements in efficiency, security, and personalization across the sector. The widespread adoption of ChatGPT-4 illustrates just one of many ways AI is transforming how we interact with financial services in our everyday lives.

Just launched on Amazon !

Foreword by Susanne Chishti – CEO FINTECH Circle

Digital Disruption has impacted every aspect of society, from social media to smartphone, and in the process, fundamentally transformed how we interact and live our lives.

Omnipresent tech keeps us organized while at the same time occupied, if we’re not just being productive, we are keeping ourselves busy by checking our social media feeds and posting selfies.

And yet, with all the tech in the world, we still find ourselves commuting, computing and communicating on the go.

Life seems to evade us, outrun us. We are constantly trying to keep up with the latest news, post, share or like; terms of a new society where tech dominates our lives. At the same time, tech has made our lives easier in many ways, we can do just about everything, all we need is our smartphone and a wifi connection.

But what if we could also make a living though our smartphone ?

That idea is now becoming a reality where we can buy, sell or trade “digital goods” via an app or platform without the need to be physically present or have a shop to display goods.

At first, we had simple digital goods like music, movies or books that we could download and store on our smartphone and take with us everywhere.

With the advent of crypto, blockchain and digital assets, we can now even store our personal wealth on our smartphone. Not only store, but also buy, sell and trade and this changes the game for everyone.

Tokenization of real-world assets on blockchain gives us the possibility of being able to trade the financial markets around the world without having to be physically present. More importantly, we don’t need a broker or intermediary; we can simply transact “peer-to-peer” instantly and securely, knowing that once a transaction on blockchain has been validated, it’s irreversible.

And that’s the power of digital assets on blockchain.

Taking it one step further, anyone with a smartphone can transact anything and anytime, knowing that all transactions are tamper-proof, time stamped and transparent.

In the world of finance, it’s called decentralized finance and it changes everything.

Financial technology has given us the tools and instruments to take charge of our own financial destiny.

Crypto and blockchain are the new frontiers in FinTech, it’s crucial to learn about these technologies now and thus be better prepared for a prosperous financial future.

This book gives its readers the opportunity to learn about advancing tech, from artificial intelligence to blockchain and from crypto to decentralized finance.

Eleftherios Jerry Floros is a FinTech expert who combines knowledge with experience, simplifying financial concepts and distilling everything to its essence. He has also been a fantastic co-Author of the bestselling FINTECH Book Series published by Wiley, which I had the pleasure to edit.

The opportunities are many, the possibilities endless.

Enjoy this exciting book.

Susanne Chishti (Linkedin/Twitter/Instagram)

Clubhouse:

@SusanneChishti  @FINTECHCircle

Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms and Automation can and will replace You in the near Future

Experts from around the world estimate that this could be at least 50% of the future labour market by the end of the decade and this has now been accelerated through lockdowns and the “work-from-home” concept (abbreviated WHF). Simple logic, if not needed at the office, why bother keeping home workers – the new global WHF cohort anno 2020 – when it can be automated and replaced by algorithm and artificial intelligence?

Big tech and proponents of the gig economy argue that AI, automation and robotisation will create as many new jobs as it destroys. 

The Big question is – which new jobs will be created – and that depends largely on each person’s individual skill set.

It’s safe to say that the higher the intelligence and intellectual capacity of someone, the greater the chance of a successful career. Add to that a good education at a major university, most likely followed up by a Master’s degree and the chances of career success grow exponentially.

The reality however is that not everyone has the required skill set or intellectual capacity to study and pursue a successful career. And some are not even bothered, owning to perhaps a supportive family nursing the career development of their offspring. On the other side of the spectrum, the career ladder may be distinctively different. Not everyone wants to become a coder or data scientist, some just may want to be creative or pursue culinary endeavors. And the latter two – the creative and the culinary – have a distinct advantage where AI cannot compete; creativity cannot be programmed, only copied or simulated.

At the bottom of the labour market – the blue collar worker – which usually involves low-skilled, repetitive manual labor such factory workers, the future looks rather bleak. Just about any blue collar worker can and will be replaced by robots or robotics. Think car manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, to name but a few of the obvious. And soon driverless taxis and trucks will impact the transport and logistics industries beyond recognition.

White collar workers have a relatively better future, although not easily replaceable depending on required skill set, they can be substituted through automation and RPA (Robotic Process Automation). Think insurance brokers, travel agents and accountants.

University graduates, experts and specialists have a distinct advantage; they cannot – as yet – all be replaced by AI and automation. Think doctors, lawyers and scientists as well as many other specialized occupations such as artists, musicians and athletes. After all, no one wants to see robots performing a live concert or competing at the Olympics.

The biggest challenge however will be how to prepare for a continuously evolving labour market where rapidly advancing tech will have the comparative advantage. And the only answer to this vexing question is that society will need to focus on “humane tech” and ensure that the human element does not go lost in automation, algorithms and robotics.