UK Treasury Committee debates leading companies over the implementation of AI for roles within the financial sector
The Treasury Committee of the House of Commons has issued letters to six major technology companies, including Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon, Anthropic, and OpenAI, to investigate their role in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the UK's financial services sector.
The inquiry, announced earlier this year, aims to examine the increasing role of AI systems in banking and pensions, with a focus on their predicted impact and recommendations for regulation in the UK. Dame Meg Hillier, the head of the Treasury Committee, has spearheaded this challenge.
Each letter asks 12 questions from the representative of each technology player. The questions cover general areas such as the companies' strategies for using AI systems in financial services, transparency methods, and risk mitigation. Additionally, the committee has recognized the central role of cloud infrastructure providers in the development of AI in financial services and has included targeted questions for the leading providers.
The deadline for the firms to respond to the committee's questions is the beginning of October. Luke Scanlon, head of fintech propositions at Pinsent Masons, has praised the committee for considering both cloud infrastructure and AI model providers in the inquiry, stating it aligns with the FCA and PRA approaches. He believes this provides an opportunity for providers operating across both cloud and models to demonstrate end-to-end responsible innovation and robust operational resilience.
The committee's inquiry also asks the six technology firms to explain their interactions with the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regarding AI in the context of being designated critical to the UK economy. This is significant as both the Bank of England and the FCA have identified certain AI providers as potential "critical third parties" that could be designated by the Treasury.
The British government committee statement on the role of AI in the British financial services sector was sent to the six major technology companies by the British government itself. However, the specific individual or office responsible for sending it is not explicitly detailed in the available search results.
This inquiry is part of a broader challenge by the Treasury Committee into AI usage in financial services, highlighting the growing importance of AI in the UK's financial sector and the need for regulatory oversight and transparency.
