Hong Kong Examines AI’s Impact on Banking Jobs and Skills

To harness artificial intelligence’s (AI) transformative power in the banking sector, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has extensively evaluated AI’s impact on banking professionals. This initiative, spearheaded by HKMA Deputy Chief Executive Arthur Yuen, highlights the pressing need for financial institutions to fortify their workforce capabilities in the face of rapid technological advancements.

Successful Reskilling Programs Highlight Need for Adaptation

Yuen emphasized the critical role of enhancing employees’ skills to enable them to seamlessly coexist with technology in the AI era. He noted that some banks had already initiated reskilling programs in 2022.

These initiatives helped about 2% of their workforce transition into new roles. Yuen highlighted successful cases where frontline staff at bank branches were retrained and redeployed into other functional areas such as risk management, wealth management, and compliance.

Yuen also stressed the importance of a proactive approach in preparing for AI’s rise. The HKMA has updated its Supervisory Policy Manual on capacity building to support this vision. 

The updated manual urges banks to establish a clear future direction for workforce development and to create strategies to address their talent needs, including resource allocation for staff training. The HKMA’s initiative comes when the full impact of generative AI on traditional human jobs remains uncertain. 

Yuen acknowledged this uncertainty but expressed optimism that with collaborative efforts, Hong Kong’s banking sector could effectively balance the benefits of technology with any disruptions to the labor market.

Study on AI’s Impact on Banking Roles

Yuen announced that the HKMA will conduct a comprehensive study on AI’s impact on job roles within the sector to support the banking industry further. This study aims to provide valuable insights for the industry, helping financial institutions better support employees who may need to transition to new roles.

Banks can develop targeted strategies to address potential challenges and opportunities by understanding the extent of AI’s impact. Yuen emphasized that such strategies ensure the sustainable development of the banking industry.

Baidu CEO Forecasts AGI Development Beyond 10 Years

In a recent panel discussion at Viva Tech Paris 2024, Robin Li, co-founder and CEO of Baidu, shared insights into the development timeline of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Li predicts that AGI, which refers to AI systems surpassing human cognitive abilities, remains at least a decade away.

Li’s remarks come amid heightened concerns regarding the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI). During the panel, Li highlighted that today’s most potent AI models are still far from achieving AGI levels of intelligence. 

He added that the stakeholders are yet to know how to achieve that level of intelligence. Baidu, one of China’s leading developers of large language models (LLMs), boasts approximately 200 million AI users. Despite his expertise, Li was cautious about the timeline for AGI development, urging a focus on solving pressing societal issues as a pathway toward AGI.

Societal Problem Solving as Pathway to AGI

According to Li, using AI to address societal problems will benefit humanity and contribute to advancing its capabilities. Furthermore, Li believes that AGI could be pivotal in mitigating challenges such as population decline. 

Citing concerns raised by billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk about declining birth rates, Li opined that AGI can enhance productivity and improve lives globally. The global population growth rate has dropped to 0.91% in 2024, down from 1.28% in 2004, according to Worldometer data.