“Is the fact that the chat model might be able to respond to prompts and have a conversation something closer to a recommendation, or guidance?” he asked.
But he also said AI could “democratize” finance by widening access to sophisticated services currently only available to the richest customers. He said people earning only £20,000 a year could gain access to financial advice usually only available “to somebody who has got £10mn in savings or assets,” adding: “I mean what’s not to like about that?”
His report recommends the FCA convenes public and private sector groups to develop an “AI-enabled financial capability service” that provides free information and guidance to the British public on their financial choices.
Many financial services companies are already piloting AI agents that can autonomously carry out financial transactions for companies and consumers. Mills, who is leaving after eight years at the FCA, said managers would still need to be accountable for the actions of their AI models. “You need a human on the hook for what they’re doing,” he said.
AI is likely to “amplify” the threat of fraud and cyber attacks, the report says, calling for the technology to be used to defend the system from such threats. “Deepfakes, synthetic identities, and personalized social engineering are taking fraud and cyber risks into a new era and changing how fraud and cyber attacks,” it says.
