Speaker: AI adoption a must for community banks to not fall behind

WELCH, MINN. — Community banks that do not adopt generative artificial intelligence will be at a significant disadvantage in coming years, said generative AI specialist and public speaker Sam Richter..Richter outlined his views on the technology during a more than hour-long address July 30 during BankIn Minnesota’s annual state convention at Treasure Island Resort & Casino. “Generative AI is not optional technology,” he added. Richter said generative AI can save banks thousands of dollars by not hiring an ad agency or other third-party consultant. He does not see the technology as eliminating existing positions, instead only doing away with repetitive, mundane tasks. Generative AI should be compared to a digital intern, Richter said.Though AI has far more knowledge than any human, Richter said humans have more wisdom and learned experience to interpret the raw intelligence. He suggested creating a “prompt persona” for the AI tool, possibly by informing it that it is a CFO or a top contract lawyer with expertise in banking law. Doing so will allow the AI tool to tailor responses based on the prompt, Richter added. Bankers can then describe their intended audience to the AI feature, along with how and in which environment the data will be delivered. Bankers using generative AI are at risk of the technology hallucinating — producing false, fabricated or erroneous information — if they do not issue enough prompts, he added. Some attorneys who used AI to craft legal documents have faced significant fines, temporary court suspensions and disqualifications from cases when the technology hallucinates. Richter provided the acronym for GPT: G stands for generative, meaning the systems create unique information for every search. P stands for pre-trained to decipher information on the internet. T stands for transformer, meaning it defines single words with multiple meanings correctly if the user provides sufficient context.He said bankers can create their own GPT by providing data sets — personal details such as where they work, their goals and values and other differentiators. Bankers can even describe how they want the information provided by the AI tool to be presented, or whether it can use humor or disagree. Not giving the AI tool permission to ask questions makes hallucination more likely, he added.