UK government appoints banking tech bosses as AI champions

The UK government has named senior tech executives from two banks to champion and guide the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the banking sector.

Starling Bank’s CIO, Harriet Rees, and Lloyds Banking Group’s AI boss, Rohit Dhawann, will report to Lucy Rigby MP, the economic secretary to HM Treasury.

But while experts support the appointments, they are also calling for more than just two AI champions in the sector.

The government wants the two executives, who are working voluntarily, to support the financial services sector in adopting AI “safely at scale”.

This is in response to a recommendation made by Matt Clifford, in the AI opportunities action plan, that the government should appoint AI champions in key growth-driving industries.

Safe AI adoption is a key feature of the new roles, with the announcement coming as the Treasury Select Committee published a report warning that financial regulators’ current approach towards AI is exposing the UK public and the country’s financial system “to potential serious harm”.

The committee said regulators are not doing enough to manage the risks presented by the increased use of AI in the financial services sector.

Rigby hopes the appointments of AI champions will reduce the risk. “[They] bring deep, real-world experience of deploying AI safely at scale, and they will help turn rapid adoption into practical delivery – unlocking growth while keeping our financial system secure and resilient,” she said.

The government said the appointees will be tasked with helping “firms seize the huge potential of AI in financial services” and “exploring ways to accelerate safe adoption at scale, identify where innovation can move faster and tackle barriers holding firms back”.

It said: “[They] will act as a catalyst for the safe and innovative adoption of AI across financial services, with a particular focus on insurance and reinsurance, capital markets, retail investment, asset management and wholesale services.”

To this end, they will engage with industry, regulators and other stakeholders to support HM Treasury ministers and officials.

The contracts will run until September this year, but an extension is possible.

One IT professional in the banking sector welcomed the involvement of technologists, who he believes will be more “forthright”, but he added: “My immediate reaction was, why only two people? I would have thought they would need more than that, including people from AI companies and more representation from big banks.”

Chris Skinner, fintech industry expert and CEO at The Finanser, said: “It is good to see the government getting proactive in AI oversight, particularly in the context of financial services where deep fake scams are rife using such technologies.”

Skinner agreed, however, that the government should have more AI champions. “The fact they have chosen Starling and Lloyds is good, but they need a wider brief as there are more innovative firms, like Revolut, out there. And why are there no AI industry champions chosen from the big players like Microsoft and Alphabet?”