This is a guest post by Kevin Phillips, Director of Solution Engineering, Fintilect
AI is now established as much more than just a trend.
It is fundamentally shifting how companies operate, compete, and grow.
As a result, much is being written on the subject. It is arguably now one of the most active areas of strategic debate within the overall technology sector. Major consulting firms, technology leaders and academics alike are vying for top billing when it comes to sharing their AI-based analysis.
One notable opinion that has surfaced recently – none other than by the founder of Chat GPT, probably itself one of the most recognizable AI vehicles, is that key technology development jobs, such as coders and project managers, face extinction because of AI.
However, when it comes to the nuanced financial technology sector, is this statement too sweeping? After all, coders and project managers are essential, with fintech sitting at the intersection of complex technology, strict regulations, and high-value transactions.
While the Chat GPT research is generic, not aimed at the fintech sector specifically, let us look at whether fintech coders and project managers are indeed at risk.
Coding and project management job roles
Let us remind ourselves of just how important coders and project managers are within financial technology.
Quite simply, fintech cannot exist without coders. Coders are the very backbone of the sector, building the systems that replace the infinite tasks that used to be performed by advisors, traders, and compliance teams. They are responsible for everything from payment processing systems to trading platforms, and from fraud detection driven by machine learning to banking-as-a-service APIs. These all require high reliability, zero tolerance for security flaws, and extremely efficient performance.
In fact, coding is just one skill that is needed – albeit a vital one! Another, very “human” trait that needs to come into play is the ability to review, query and sometimes challenge the very brief itself. This ability to push-back where necessary is a core part of the job – and one that can keep a project on-track and on-budget. Coders also need to blend skills and experience in security engineering, high-availability architecture, data engineering and API design and compliance requirements – the list goes on.
Turning to fintech project managers, they could also be called “communicators”. In fact, human interactions take up the lion’s share of the role, with the ability to liaise between clients and suppliers often being the core skill they need. Add to this the fact they also need to speak with engineers, compliance officers, legal teams, UX designers, data scientists, product owners and external regulators, and you truly understand just how important communication is.
AI job roles
AI has much to offer in the financial technology sector.
Of that, there is no doubt.
We are already harnessing its powerful ability to drive hyper-personalization for banks, building societies, and motor finance providers. It has the capability to analyze and produce an almost imaginable amount of intricate data points, allowing financial providers to truly speak the language of their customers and to treat them as a unique individual rather than just another number.
In addition, it is increasingly being used to drive areas including fraud detection and security, credit scoring and lending, risk assessment and compliance, wealth management and robo-advisors.
However, when it comes to project managers, the founder of Chat GPT asserts that AI systems can automate repetitive administrative work such as scheduling, tracking progress, and allocating resources. For coders, the research states that coding tools are already automating parts of the development process, a trend that is likely to accelerate as models become more advanced.
While many of us working within financial technology will agree with these sentiments, we have already discussed that these skills only paint half the picture. Communication is vital, with the ability to push back, question, adapt, and liaise between multiple project stakeholders making up the other half, skills which an AI project manager simply cannot yet manage.
A blended future
Rather than replacing fintech project managers and coders, AI is far more likely to become an invaluable tool that will enhance their ability to do the job.
AI will help coders in multiple areas, providing faster development with code generation, automatic bug detection, smarter testing, and the ability to carry out better data engineering. It will also be hugely beneficial with documentation interpretation and legacy systems support.
However, human coders will still need to check, interpret, and test the digital systems being implemented for financial services providers – quite simply because nothing can be left to chance. They will also sometimes need to question and push back on the very brief itself. There is too much at stake in a financial services world underpinned by regulation, competition and a need to constantly prove added value to customers.
Likewise, project managers will find their roles enhanced by AI. It will help them to scope projects easier, utilise intelligent resource planning, and ensure they have better compliance management systems in place. It will also be of huge assistance with automated reporting, real-time risk management, and improved communications across teams.
However, again, a physical project manager will still be needed – to be a point of contact, to oversee what is going on and – perhaps above all – to be a point of reassurance and to ensure seamless overall communications.
Conclusion
AI is already entrenched into virtually every industrial sector in the world – so it is not surprising that so much research is being done into the sector.
The founder of Chat GPT is correct in that AI will impact the role of a coder and a project manager – even replacing them in some sectors. However, when it comes to the world of financial services and fintech, this prediction is too generic. It fails to consider the ultra-specific, intrinsically nuanced, fiercely competitive and heavily regulated background which financial providers operate within.
We are already seeing how AI is enriching the roles of fintech coders and project managers and ultimately making these roles more essential than ever. This trend will continue. There are simply too many hidden skills they bring to the table, skills that AI are unlikely to replicate any time soon.
Image provided by Fintilect
