Will retail banking be next for robots bankers?

If your boss asks you to go to a studio to create an avatar, you might want to think twice. When US actors and writers went on strike in 2023, the central topics of contention were proposal by studios to write AI scripts and to create AI avatars of actors, which could then be used to replace them. The studios relented. But now the technology is finding its way into finance, with UBS trialling the use of avatars to appear in videos sent to clients. Analysts are sent to a studio where their voices and images are recorded, and used to create an avatar. They then create a script using an LLM to analyse their research and load it to the avatar, and send the videos to clients. The Swiss bank said the use of the technology would free bankers for more productive tasks, though we suspect these "more productive tasks" may be taking place in a different job or industry after they lose their jobs. UBS says the time saved by creating videos will allow analysts more time to meet with clients. Scott Solomon, head of global research technology at UBS's investment bank, told the Financial Times that the drivers are "the client driver and the efficiency driver...€It is helping you scale your video capabilities in a way that clients are asking you for, and ultimately saving you time to do your research and meet with clients." Solomon argued that clients are already used to consuming short video content via TikTok.