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More than just short-term financial results, the adoption of new technology like AI needs to deliver better living standards for Australians, Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn says.
Speaking at the Financial Review Banking Summit in Sydney, Comyn said that while businesses including Commonwealth Bank were racing to find ways to incorporate AI and improve efficiency, there were also bigger questions that needed to be addressed.
“Ultimately, this technology needs to lead to productivity and improvements in living standards, not [corporate] valuations,” he said.
More important than the next quarter or next year’s financial results, was the question of “how do we maximise benefits for Australia?”, Comyn said.
Pace, scale and volatility
Comyn said the introduction of any new technology was usually accompanied by predictions about problems it could cause. “All technology shifts, early on, look like they could be a real risk, with lots of problems,” he said.
These concerns have always faded over time as technology was more widely adopted, but the pace and scale of change created by AI was different, and could potentially create volatility in the economy, he said. “It’s quite a different period to what we have seen in the past decade or more,” Comyn said.
Not everyone was on board with the AI transition, he said, acknowledging it was causing anxiety about employment and jobs.
Leadership and long-term thinking were required to get the balance right between tapping the advantages of AI and making sure it was delivering for Australian society as a whole, he said.
“I think a lot of leadership has to be about making sure that we are adapting, or empowering and building capability within our people and our organisations and trying to get that balance right – which will not be easy,” he said.
With the current oil shock only increasing global volatility and uncertainty, we need also need to consider how the economic benefits of AI were shared, “both at a global and national level, but also across different groups within society”, Comyn said.
Maintaining strong institutions
Strong institutions and trust in government meant Australia was in a better position than some other countries to address the challenges, Comyn said, saying it was vital this trust is maintained.
“Leadership is going to be really important – strengthening trust in institutions, strengthening confidence, empowering people and making sure that this shift doesn’t weaken that.”
The need for trust, transparency and resilience was the reason CBA is spending $90m on Future Workplace program for its people, Comyn said. Announced in February, the AI-focused program is a structural redesign of how skills are developed and how careers will evolve within Commonwealth Bank.