For technologists and business strategists, artificial intelligence offers an intriguing, sometimes confounding duality. AI offers true game-changing opportunities to amplify the impact of organizational data sets. However, these opportunities must be measured against potential risks that – if not properly managed – could endanger a business and its customers. For organizations in regulated industries, such as credit unions, balancing business opportunity and risk with AI takes on special importance.

The great promise of AI, and new tools such as generative AI, is a democratization of sorts, with small- to mid-sized financial institutions beginning to enjoy the use of tools that were previously reserved for organizations that could afford to develop the technology. For example, in the United States, the vast majority of the more than 10,000 small- to mid-sized financial institutions that serve consumers use traditional methods to decide to whom to lend and provide other services. Using AI and machine learning technology to elevate the sophistication of their many products will result in more surgical data- and analytics-driven decisioning to ascertain creditworthy consumers. This would be a win-win for both lending institutions and consumers resulting in greater financial inclusion.