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November 20, 2019

Artificial Intelligence in Lending: The Pros and Cons



The world, as we know it, is changing ever so rapidly. With the emergence of the internet, the possibilities of remotely doing tasks open up. Connecting with people on the other side of the globe is made possible. In short, technology is opening up a lot of ways for us to do our tasks quickly and efficiently.



Like the internet, A.I. or Artificial Intelligence is another technological innovation that can dramatically improve our lives. Thanks to the capabilities of A.I., lots of processes and tasks are more efficiently monitored and worked on. For intricate jobs such as those in manufacturing and packaging businesses, tasks become easier to manage and often yield high-quality results.

Tasks related to financing are highly complicated and demand the utmost focus. A mistake in jobs handling credit, loans, and insurance can lead to massive losses for a lending company. This meticulous approach by lenders and bankers is the reason why it takes a considerable amount of time to process loan applications.

Everything has to be done by following the law, to the numbers, and the available options. Having to manually open or find files, records, bills, and other vital paperwork is a complicated and very time-consuming task. With A.I. and automation, everything becomes more manageable.

Although A.I. is very promising in delivering a more streamlined process to lending and loan applications, some people claim that A.I.s are easy to corrupt. In the rare times that these systems fail, entire databases of clients could be at risk. For some, the fear of having to rely on automated systems could lead to a potential loss for companies.

Though both sides’ arguments are pretty convincing, the potential of A.I. to make our lives and jobs easier is undeniable. Here are some pros and cons of Artificial Intelligence handling financial tasks:

Pros

Stronger Protection against scams

With the internet and its capabilities, it’s not hard to imagine that scams are almost everywhere. The growing number of fraudulent transactions is quite alarming. With human intervention, frauds can still be detected but at a slower and an inefficient rate. With Artificial Intelligence, it makes spotting these scams much easier and more efficiently.

Part of an automated system’s programming is flagging possible fraudulent transactions. As it stores these transactions, heavy data crunching and algorithms determine which are good and which are scams. A.I. the uses that data and enables itself to learn and strengthen its capabilities.

Increased Efficiency

A lot of people who work with financing are known to be efficient workers. However, due to human limitations and the sheer number of transactions to work out a day, there are times that certain lapses happen. Specific tasks such as approving Bad Credit Loans like payday loans, title loans, bad credit installment loans, and cash advances all require a keen eye and a focused mind to process.

With the capability to fetch and read data at impossible speeds, A.I. doesn’t tire out and isn’t fazed by the complexity and number of transactions it handles. Processes get handled more efficiently, and nothing is left to chance.

Increased Productivity

Being productive usually means being profitable. Again, there’s only so much that ordinary human beings can handle daily. With automation and an efficient A.I. system, productivity is significantly multiplied.

As Artificial Intelligence frees up tasks, companies can assign skilled employees to more critical projects and tasks that focus on growth and innovation.

Smart Solution for better customer service

Since it can effectively handle a lot of transactions and applications, Artificial Intelligence speeds up the process of having to approve or reject loan applications. Not only that, once a client’s request is denied, certain A.I. features automatically present available options for that client.

The speed and efficiency of a good A.I. beats having to manually rummage through numbers and other paperwork only to settle on a less desirable solution. Overall, A.I. helps the client by presenting faster and better options. A.I. also helps a company with its systems as it greatly increases customer support and satisfaction.

Cons

A.I. is expensive

Due to its limitless capabilities, A.I. can become very costly for companies that are just starting up. Another factor that adds to the expenses of getting A.I. is that it needs constant updates and may need frequent hardware replacement.

Artificial Intelligence also doesn’t do well when it comes to recovery. A severe system crash can lead to problems that can potentially cripple an entire company. Getting back up from this significant setback can be very time consuming and costly.

Takes away jobs

Another fear that’s undoubtedly a reality is that A.I. can someday take away jobs from people. Due to their efficiency, some companies are cutting costs by reducing the number of people they employ. This situation is a legitimate fear as more and more tasks are being taken up by A.I. and other automated systems.

Dehumanizes Certain Tasks

Sometimes, some situations call for a more human touch. In some cases, A.I. can have some bad calls when approving or rejecting loans. Although it certainly can learn, A.I. cannot see through intuition and judgment calls that ordinary people use daily.

There’s always a need for human intervention, especially when it comes to jobs that need rational thinking and morality. Below is a situation involving loans that will perfectly illustrate why human intervention is still a must:

“Secured loans often require people to present collaterals or deposits should they fail to pay their loans. If an A.I. does its job, it will automatically and legally claim any property or finances known as collateral. What the A.I. fails to understand is that there is a need for human compassion in situations such as these. The A.I. simply cannot recognize the situation the client is in, compared to when a human does the job.”

Takeaway

System Automation is the future of most jobs and tasks. Lending isn’t unique and is one of the tasks that A.I. systems can handle.

The pros and cons mentioned above are excellent starting points on whether lending companies should use Artificial Intelligence for their operations. Although the potential of A.I. efficiently handling difficult jobs is immense, certain situations still need human intervention.

Author Bio

The coffee sipping and sudoku solving Tiffany Wagner, enjoys reading and writing about finance and business related topics. When she’s not sharing her work with her readers, you can easily find her in a bookstore or library, looking for something to read on.


 
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