OECD Business and Finance Outlook 2021
AI in Business and Finance
The OECD Business and Finance Outlook is an annual publication that presents unique data and analysis on the trends, both positive and negative, that are shaping tomorrow’s world of business, finance and investment. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has progressed rapidly in recent years and is being applied in settings ranging from health care, to scientific research, to financial markets. It offers opportunities, amongst others, to reinforce financial stability, enhance market efficiency and support the implementation of public policy goals. These potential benefits need to be accompanied by appropriate governance frameworks and best practices to mitigate risks that may accompany the deployment of AI systems in both the public and private sphere.
Using analysis from a wide range of perspectives, this year’s edition examines the implications arising from the growing importance of AI-powered applications in finance, responsible business conduct, competition, foreign direct investment and regulatory oversight and supervision. It offers guidelines and a number of policy solutions to help policy makers achieve a balance between harvesting the opportunities offered by AI while also mitigating its risks.
Trends and policy frameworks for AI in finance
Compared to many other sectors, AI is being diffused rapidly in the financial sector. This creates opportunities but also raises distinctive policy issues, particularly with respect to the use of personal data and security, fairness and explainability considerations.This chapter introduces AI and its applications in finance and proposes three complementary frameworks to structure the AI policy debate in this sector to help policy makers assess the opportunities and challenges of AI diffusion in this sector. One approach assesses how each of the ten OECD AI Principles applies to this sector. A second approach considers the policy implications and stakeholders involved in each phase of the AI system lifecycle, from planning and design to operation and monitoring. A third approach looks at different types of AI systems using the OECD framework for the classification of AI systems to identity different policy issues, depending on the context, data, input and models used to perform different tasks. The chapter concludes with a stocktaking of recent AI policies and regulations in the financial sector, highlighting policy efforts to design regulatory frameworks that promote innovation while mitigating risks.