'Machine plus people'

While artificial intelligence (AI) will change the workforce, it won’t necessarily remove people from the equation, according to a Filene Research Institute webinar on “The Evolution and Impact of AI in Credit Unions.”

“It doesn’t have to be a replacement narrative,” says Dr. Lamont Black, a Filene Fellow and associate professor of finance at DePaul University. “It doesn’t have to be machine versus people. It can be machine plus people.”

Best Innovation Group CEO John Best says there’s an imperative to design AI with humanity at the forefront to ensure “technology serves to uplift rather than undermine. It’s about empowering employees so they have access to your knowledge base and member data so they can put those dots together and figure out how to serve members more effectively.”

As generative AI adoption is still in the early stages, use cases are still being developed. However, Best says, “his isn’t ‘if,’ it’s ‘when.’ It’s coming your way whether you like it or not.”

“Don’t become paralyzed because of all the complexities,” Black adds, citing concerns over ethical considerations, bias, data governance, safety concerns, and human replacement. “This isn’t the time to get stuck debating a dystopian future.”

Instead, the webinar stressed developing responsible, people-centered AI use cases that enhance human lives by empowering employees and improving members’ financial health.

One of the most prevalent credit union AI applications comes in contact centers, which can be overloaded with call volume or digital questions. AI can improve staff efficiency by fielding some requests and routing queries to the proper employee.

Topside Federal Credit Union in Dahlgren, Va., used to have around 30 chat sessions per month, but now has around 150, says Tiffany McDowney, director of member services at the $513 million asset credit union.

Topside Federal implemented a chatbot named Topper last summer. “But I don’t feel it’s true AI, as all of the responses come from us,” she says. “We told Topper what to say.”

AI can assist humans in the call center, as well as through virtual assistants, marketing, sales, product development, service operations, expedited loan approvals, automated loan underwriting, and more.

“Large language models facilitate people interacting with information,” Black says. “It’s the evolution of human/computer interaction. The easier it is to talk to a computer, the easier it is to get answers from that computer. These tools are going to make your organization much more data-driven.”