The Bank Of Europe Is Worried About Its Dependence On The US Big Tech On The Surge In AI Use

Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral AI. (photo: x @AI_OpsLeader)

JAKARTA - At a fintech executive meeting in Amsterdam this week, several European banks expressed concerns about their growing dependence on a small number of major US technology companies in line with the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

Bahadir Yilmaz, ING's analytic chief in charge of the Dutch bank's AI work, said he hoped banks would depend "in the future" on Big Tech companies, both for infrastructure and machinery.

"You will always need them because sometimes the power of machines needed for these technologies is huge. It is also impossible for a bank to build this technology itself," Yilmaz was quoted as saying by VOI from Reuters.

"The bank's dependence on a small number of technology companies is one of the biggest risks", Yilmaz said. He also stressed that European banks, in particular, need to ensure that they can move between different technology providers and avoid what he calls "vendor lockdowns".

The UK government last year proposed rules to regulate financial company's weight dependence on external technology companies, such as Microsoft, Google, IBM, and Amazon. Regulators worry that problems in one cloud computing company could bring services to many financial institutions.

The presence of artificial intelligence received special attention at Amsterdam's conference. French AI startup CEO Mistral AI, seen as France's answer to OpenAI, told participants there was "synergy" between its GenAI product and financial services.

"Ini melihat banyak keluangan dalam membuat analisis dan memonitor informasi... yang memang sesuatu yang dikait oleh para banker," kata Arthur Mensch, CEO Mistral AI.

In his first statement about AI, the European Union's securities supervisory authority last week said that banks and investment companies cannot avoid responsibility in meeting rooms and have a legal obligation to protect customers while using AI. The authority warns that the technology will most likely have a significant impact on the protection of retail investors.