NEW YORK — As banks increasingly deploy artificial intelligence across their operations, students seeking careers in finance are finding themselves preparing for interviews with AI-powered software while also wondering whether the jobs they hope to land will still exist in the years ahead, according to a new report.
Andre Bonnick, a student at Warwick University in the United Kingdom, told Fortune he spends hours preparing for initial screening interviews conducted by artificial intelligence rather than human recruiters. The technology is becoming more common as financial institutions seek efficiencies through automation.
The shift comes as top banking executives have openly acknowledged that AI is likely to reduce staffing needs. As the CU Daily has previously reported, executives including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser and Goldman Sachs President John Waldron have all suggested that some positions could disappear as AI capabilities expand.
‘Middle Office is Vulnerable’
Industry observers say the technology poses a broader threat than previous waves of automation because it can affect higher-skilled positions, not just routine administrating Smtive work.
“It’s fair to say middle office is vulnerable,” employment lawyer David Parsons told Fortune. “That’s the difference with this wave of automation; it impacts jobs higher up the chain.”
Students who traditionally viewed banking and finance as stable, well-paying career paths are already seeing fewer opportunities. Fortune reported that some banks have reduced junior analyst hiring classes significantly while simultaneously recruiting heavily from those same talent pools for AI-related positions.
Shrinking, Not Disappearing
Debasish Patnaik, who leads AI consulting efforts at McKinsey & Co.’s QuantumBlack unit, told Fortune that graduate hiring programs are likely to shrink but not disappear entirely because banks still rely on junior employees to develop future leaders.
“Banking is an apprenticeship business,” Patnaik said, according to Fortune. “Today’s junior analysts become tomorrow’s managing directors.”
Rather than replacing entire institutions with AI-driven systems, banks are currently focusing on targeted applications. Fortune reported that firms are using AI for customer service, transaction monitoring, wealth management support and operational efficiency.
Citigroup’s Avatar
Citigroup is introducing a conversational AI avatar designed to provide wealth management guidance, while Barclays has used generative AI to summarize millions of customer service calls. Digital banking company Revolut recently launched an AI-powered assistant that helps customers analyze spending patterns and manage account controls, according to the report.
At the same time, some recruiters remain skeptical that banks will rely heavily on AI for hiring decisions because of concerns over bias, discrimination and legal liability. Others warn that workforce reductions tied to automation could create employment discrimination risks if cuts disproportionately affect certain groups, according to the Fortune analysis.
Some are Hiring Aggressively
Despite growing concerns, some large banks continue to hire aggressively. Fortune reported that Bank of America remains committed to bringing on approximately 2,000 summer interns and 2,000 full-time recruits this year, even as it seeks to use AI to improve efficiency and keep overall headcount relatively flat.
For students entering the profession, however, the report suggests the challenge is no longer simply competing against other applicants. Increasingly, it is adapting to a workplace where artificial intelligence is becoming both the interviewer and, potentially, a future co-worker.
