When technology innovation is moving at light speed, it can be hard to keep up.

But not for the 9,000 or so members of the global financial services community who attended Sibos 2023 in Toronto. The premier global conference was buzzing right from the first session of the day until late into the night with discussions about generative AI and, demonstrations of its application to various use cases, and speculation about how this this show-stopping technology promises the world of fintech.

From my conversations and those of my colleagues, there’s simply no overstating the interest in generative AI, and as a member of the Avanade team on the ground there, it was fascinating to see the range of approaches companies are taking to exploring, piloting and deploying generative AI.

If I had to boil them down, discussions seemed to center around two themes: the expanding universe of potential use cases and the universal question, “How do we get started?”

What’s your “why?”
At Avanade, we have been working in the world of generative AI since its emergence. We know what’s hype and what’s not. When I’m asked where to start, I have one answer: Find your “why.”

Do you feel like you should check it out because it is in the news? Perhaps you fear falling behind competitors or because you think it might give you a competitive advantage? You may already see how it could help resolve some of the challenges facing the financial services community.

In my experience, once you identify your “why,” the path forward appears.

At Sibos, I was gratified to see how the conversations about generative AI and AI more broadly had evolved from the original scare headlines (remember “AI will replace humanity”?) to how these technologies can be deployed to optimize people’s jobs and employee experiences, as reflected in the name Microsoft selected for its generative AI platform, Copilot.

What job wouldn’t benefit from the addition of a co-pilot, a system to handle some of the more transactional parts of a job so that people can focus more of their time on the things only humans can do? Once we realize that generative AI is, at its best, a co-pilot, it is an easy progression from “why” to conversations about “how” and “when.”

These are the invigorating discussions my colleagues and I are having every day with companies and our clients, from strategic conversations that help identify an organization’s “why” and “where to start” through to a range of workshops during which we work through issues of governance, compliance, security, privacy and empowerment.

When I think of how fast AI technology is evolving and how far the discussions about its deployment have come in less than a year, I can’t even imagine what the conversations at Sibos 2024 will be. I know I, for one, can’t wait.

Learn and build with generative AI today
Avanade can fast-track your AI journey so you can start building business value with generative AI today.

When you’re ready to work with generative AI tools, consider registering for a 2-hour session or a 2-day, hands-on workshop, where we’ll dive deeper into AI use cases, explore trust issues and responsible AI frameworks. We’ll then map out how to rapidly deliver ROI at your organization.

Learn more about our workshop and contact us to register today.