News

CRM Report #3: FinTech

Published: December 20, 2021

WASP-HS publishes the third Community Reference Meeting (CRM) report, this time on the topic of FinTech. The report is based on the CRM FinTech which was dedicated to public and private organizations in Sweden as well as the WASP-HS community. The aim is to learn about challenges and questions of the participants’ interest, and for WASP-HS to share recent research development within the program in order to identify opportunities for collaboration. The meeting took place on October 5, 2021.

WASP-HS Community Reference Meetings (CRM) are dedicated to public and private organizations in Sweden as well as the WASP-HS community. The aim is to learn about challenges and questions of the participants’ interest, and for WASP-HS to share recent research development within the program in order to identify opportunities for collaboration in different sectors. On October 5, 2021, a CRM on the topic of FinTech was hosted by WASP-HS. The national research program has now published a report based on the discussions which took place available for everyone interested.

– Developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are transforming financial products and services.
Automated decision-making plays an increasingly important role regarding the provision of financial services,
fraud detection, and credit audits. At the same time, consumer finance providers are relying on conversational
AI agents that can engage directly with customers, and perform algorithmic trading, including high-frequency
algorithmic trading. These actions, and interactions, are shaping markets and policies. Thus, AI brings much
promise to the financial sector but at the same time, the application of AI-related to financial services is one that raises many questions in terms of societal impact, management, security, and regulation, says Virginia Dignum, WASP-HS Program Director.

Research Roadmap

To the FinTech CRM, WASP-HS brought together Swedish researchers, practitioners, and other interested parties, to discuss how AI is being used in the financial sector in Sweden and how its impact on people and society can best be analyzed. The discussions focused on the identification of primary positive and negative impacts, how accountability needs to be (re-)understood when financial transactions are mediated by algorithms, and the characteristics of radical change in the sector. Participants included researchers from Swedish universities, industry, national governments, as well as representatives of intergovernmental and international organizations.

The discussions during this CRM indicate that research and innovation is needed to:

  • Increase the current level of trust on the current capabilities of AI technology,
  • Address the ethical aspects related to the balance between personalization and privacy,
  • Support the definition of clear regulatory regimens that support the uptake of technology in the sector, aligning ethical, societal, and business principles as well as requirements.

Please download and read the full reportĀ here.

The first WASP-HS CRM Report, Healthcare, can be downloaded and read here.