Wall Streeters sound off on their use of AI. But the real test will be if the tech can make their fi

Hello! The iPhone could reportedly get a major redesign to turn it into aflip phone. What year are we living in? In today's big story, dozens of Wall Street employees open up about how they are (or aren't) using AI on the job.

2024-07-25T13:42:49Z

Hello! The iPhone could reportedly get a major redesign to turn it into a…flip phone. What year are we living in?

In today's big story, dozens of Wall Street employees open up about how they are (or aren't) using AI on the job.

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The big story

AI pulse check on Wall Street

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

"How are you using generative AI?"

The question has dominated the business world for almost two years. Once ChatGPT graced us with its presence, everyone wanted to know how to leverage the tech to get ahead.

Wall Street, with its reams of data and need to analyze complex topics, has always been viewed as fertile ground for the AI revolution. So Business Insider's finance team spoke with almost three dozen finance workers across the industry about how they're using AI.

From helping to identify startups to invest in to aggregating thousands of analyst notes to cutting down the time spent on busy work, AI use cases on the Street ran the gamut.

Overall, generative AI typically helped finance professionals do their jobs faster, easier, or both.

Not everyone is sold. Some don't see the "breakthrough" possibilities of the tech that so many have prophesied, finding it hard to see specific uses of AI in their own processes.

And to be fair, they might not be wrong. As much as Wall Street likes to tout tech adoption, certain corners remain unchanged from decades ago, albeit with a few extra bells and whistles.

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

Not unlike the workers it's looking to serve, gen AI's future on Wall Street will boil down to its ability to produce results.

AI development doesn't come cheap. Whether you're starting from scratch or buying something off the shelf, there's plenty of costs to consider, from talent to hardware to retraining staff.

Blackstone expects the US to spend roughly $1 trillion over the next five years building and facilitating new data centers that'll help power the gen AI wave.

That kind of cash means investors will want to see real changes in how things are done thanks to AI. It's a question Big Tech leaders are already fielding.

On Tuesday, Alphabet executives were pressed on whether Google's AI overview feature was generating more revenue for the firm, writes BI's Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert. And Nvidia has plans to show how its customers are making money using its AI chips when it reports earnings next month.

They won't be alone, as Goldman expects the market to keenly watch if AI spend can translate to revenue.

And that's in tech where companies are supposed to take big swings on innovative projects! Now consider Wall Street, where ROI is built into the core of the industry.

Will those firms continue pouring money into tech that can't improve their bottom line? In the end, finance workers' views on using generative AI, whatever they are, might not matter.

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    What's happening today

    • President Joe Biden meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
    • The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes advance GDP data for Q2.
    • Hermès, Nissan, Southwest Airlines, and other companies are reporting earnings.

    The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Annie Smith, associate producer, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.

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