Westpac joins consortium of experts backing responsible use of AI

By Leandra Monteiro

Westpac recently announced it will become one of six founding members forming a consortium of businesses promoting the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) within financial services.

The UNSW AI Fintech Hub will bring together researchers and businesses, including Amazon Web Services and Databricks, to tackle emerging challenges associated with AI.

Westpac Group, Chief Technology Officer, David Walker said Westpac would be able to contribute and benefit from the rapid developments of AI. “AI is becoming more and more advanced and with that is a need to ensure it is used in the right way, ‘AI for Good’.

“We are incredibly excited to participate with UNSW and tap into the expertise of the consortium to solve important and complex problems across the sector, from helping customers, to reducing risk, and supporting businesses with their sustainability priorities. One of our first goals, for example, is to help organisations measure their transition to Net-Zero by developing quantitative tools and AI models that can offer more accurate and sector-specific carbon accounting estimations,” added Walker.

Dr Eric Lim, Senior Lecturer at UNSW Business School shared, “It represents an extension of our physical lives into a virtual domain. For AI to serve humanity we must always consider how it is applied, and ensure AI serves as part of a critical and ethical infrastructure for the new web3 economy.”

Founding members of the consortium include UNSW, Westpac, Amazon Web Services, Databricks, BrewAI and Cognitivo Consulting.