The world around us has transformed radically and a digitalrevolutionisunderway
in treasury. We are in a period of
rapid change, constantly wondering
what our computers can do for us
today. How does this impact a day
in the life of corporate treasurers?
Will human treasury be replaced by
robots in the near future? Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and Machine
Learning (ML) are set to transform
and optimize treasury operations.
Back to the future
AI is not new - it has been around for
nearly 70 years and began with Alan
Turing’s Test and the establishment
of the field of AI.
In 1990 the prominent futurist and
AI expert Ray Kurzweil extrapolated
the performance of chess software to
predict that computers would beat
the best human players “by the year
2000”. The power of AI and ML has
been demonstrated by the trajectory
of chess computers since Deep Blue
beat Garry Kasparov in 1997.
The journey of chess computers in
the last 20 years illustrates how far
artificial intelligence has come, and
how even an apparently unbeatable
chess program can be outclassed with
the use of a deep learning algorithm.
This is just one example of how
machine learning is uncovering new
strategies.
We humans have realized that
computers were able to outperform
us in many ways: processing power
for performing calculations, memory
storage, and searching vast amounts
of data and possible outcomes. With
more powerful computers and the
ability to process huge amounts
of data, new application areas will
arise, as we see now in treasury. This
journey demonstrates how embracing
deep learning can bring benefits
beyond what can be achieved by either
humans or computers individually,
ultimately transforming how a
particular problem is approached.
By adopting AI, companies can go on
their own transformational journey
and discover how they can collaborate
with technology to improve their
performance and add more value than
ever before.
How can artificial
intelligence help treasury
teams?
With the power of ML and AI,
treasury teams can become more
effective and add more value to the
businesses they serve. AI has many
use cases in Treasury. Organizations
can derive monetary gains, better
prepare and plan, and validate data
using AI. Also, with these tools,
The artificial intelligence and
machine learning revolution
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not new - it has been around for nearly 70 years! It all started out with the Alan Turing Test and the
establishment of the field of AI. With more powerful computers and the ability to process huge amounts of data new application
areas will arise, as we see now in treasury.
1950: Alan Turing introduces the
Turing Test, a test that challenges
whether a machine can “think”
1956: At the Dartmouth Conference,
the field of AI is launched and the term
“artificial intelligence” is coined
1960: Psychologist Frank
Rosenblatt’s work on perceptrons
lead to the development of the
Mark I Perceptron, the ‘first
computer’ that learned skills by trial
and error
The late 1970s and 1980s were known
as “The Winter of AI” a time of reduced
funding and interest in the field
1988: British scientist Rollo Carpenter
creates Jabberwacky, a chatbot
designed to carry out conversations with
users and intimate human interaction
1997: IBM’s Deep Blue Computer beats
Garry Kasparov, reigning world chess
champion, in a game of chess.
Late 1990s: Dr. Cynthia Breazeal of M. I. T
designs KISMET, a robot head that can
recognize and replicate human emotions.
1978/79: SCARA, a robotic arm
used in assembly lines, is created
in Japan, and thereby allows for
high-speed automated assembly
Late 2000s: IBM introduces Watson, a
question ans wering computer system
that is able to answer questions posed
in a natural language. Like IBM’s Deep
Blue, Watson went on to beat the top two
Jeopardy! contestants.
2011: Apple launches Siri, an
intelligent personal assistant.
2016: Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo
beats the European Go champion Fan
Hui 5:0 and the Korean Go champion
Lee Sedol 4: 1