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This is the thirty-seventh in a series of informative monthly articles for North Carolina businesses from PNC in collaboration with BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA magazine.
Finance and technology executive Ned Carroll is unable to recall a time when he wasn’t fascinated with the premise of how well-managed data can be used.
His love of data has lineage dating back generations. As a child, Carroll spent his weekends with his grandfather at the Port of Baltimore calculating ship turnaround time, berth productivity, dwell time and other metrics used to assess productivity of port operations.
While in high school, he learned of his family’s history leveraging data to impact world events. His great-grandfather served in World War II as a researcher and epidemiologist for the War Office on Malaria, the predecessor to the Centers for Disease Control, to help battle the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in the Pacific Theater: tropical disease.
Fast forward to today, and Charlotte-based Carroll is using this background context of how powerful data can be to understand the world around us and help formulate solutions to advance automation in banking.
This, together with 30 years of industry experience, provides Carroll the inspiration and capacity necessary to address the seemingly paradoxical challenge of harnessing the power of advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the responsibly regulated framework of the financial services industry.
“AI is not new,” says Carroll. “As a student at Davidson College, I did AI. The difference now is that the availability of data, compute and tools makes it easier, faster and cheaper
to access.”
As executive vice president and head of Enterprise Data and Automation at PNC Bank, Carroll is accountable for driving the application of AI for all bank stakeholders and delivering solutions that drive efficiency, while upholding the responsibility that accompanies a financial institution’s stewardship of data. It’s a delicate balance he refers to as prudent innovation.
Fortunately, the same types of skills required to manage AI responsibly have been used to manage models that impact the safety and soundness of the financial system, so the financial services industry is well positioned to deploy AI responsibly.
“As an enterprise, we are always seeking new ways to
work smarter and create greater efficiencies while delivering the best customer experiences possible,” says Carroll. “PNC has been using AI for years to drive efficiencies and will continue to do so in a strategic and thoughtful way that optimizes return on investment, minimizes risk and prioritizes our customers’ best interests.”
Carroll frequently shares his insights with executives throughout the country. And while AI use cases and particulars can vary widely across industries, the same fundamentals apply.
DATA. DATA. DATA.
As interest in AI continues to grow and it becomes increasingly more accessible to organizations, Carroll cautions against viewing AI as a silver bullet for addressing business and operational challenges. He emphasizes that AI should be recognized for what it truly is: a way to extract value from data. And it takes a lot of data to operationalize AI.
“Data and AI are often approached as two independent conversations, when in fact the connections and interdependencies between the two cannot be ignored,”
he says.
Bad data can plague a model with flawed results and can create ripple effects. As the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out,” so any AI strategy must be built atop a strong data strategy.
“I analogize the connection between data and AI models with food and how we nourish our bodies,” says Carroll. “Consuming junk food with little nutritional value is akin to feeding models low-quality data. A model is only as good as the data that fuels it.”
IMPLEMENTATION CONSIDERATIONS
Beyond the data-quality imperative, there are several considerations organizations should evaluate when contemplating AI implementation, including viability, risk
and cost, says Carroll. For PNC, applying AI involves a thoughtful approach and emphasis on demonstrable value.
“Before even considering leveraging AI as a tool, organizations should ask themselves, ‘What are we trying to solve for?’” he says.
In some instances, the most immediate or cost-effective solution may be an old-fashioned process improvement.
And while the potential for AI is exciting, organizations need to think beyond how they can leverage it – and focus on how to control it in a way that is reliable and trustworthy, understanding the risks and building guardrails to help mitigate risk.
“In some ways, AI can be viewed as a high-performance car,” says Carroll. “Engineering for speed and power may be the objective, but the importance of safety mechanisms cannot be overstated. Additionally, it’s not always needed. For example, I don’t necessarily need a Ferrari to drive to the grocery store.”
Additionally, organizations should be mindful of potential cybersecurity or privacy risks and how to safeguard the vast volume of data that informs AI models. Privacy and protection of customers is paramount.
“The cost of introducing AI into a business’s operations extends beyond the initial investment in the tech and upskilling for employees. The true cost over the long term —beyond the initial capital investment — should be part of the decision calculus,” Carroll says.
A BRILLIANTLY BORING APPROACH
When it comes to PNC’s prudent approach to innovation and AI, Carroll leans into the enterprise’s core messaging of brilliant and boring. “While AI may not seem boring at face value, our priorities are intentionally focused on responsibility, security, quality and driving efficiencies,” he says. “Our human-in-the-loop approach means our employees continue to play a critical role in managing data and automation technologies and strive for the highest level of quality. It’s important that we consistently demonstrate our commitment to responsible AI to our customers, shareholders and employees.”
This article was prepared for general information purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax or accounting advice or as recommendations to engage in any specific transaction, including with respect to any securities of PNC, and does not purport to be comprehensive. Under no circumstances should any information contained in this article be used or considered as an offer or commitment, or a solicitation of an offer or commitment, to participate in any particular transaction or strategy. Any reliance upon any such information is solely and exclusively at your own risk. Please consult your own counsel, accountant or other advisor regarding your specific situation. Neither PNC Bank nor any other subsidiary of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will be responsible for any consequences of reliance upon any opinion or statement contained here, or any omission. The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily the opinions of PNC Bank or any of its affiliates, directors, officers or employees.
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