LONDON (Reuters) – Artificial intelligence (AI) will become the primary way banks interact with their customers within the next three years, according to three quarters of bankers surveyed by consultancy Accenture in a new report. Four in five bankers believe AI will "revolutionise" the way in which banks gather information as well as how they interact with their clients, said the Accenture Banking Technology Vision 2017 report, which surveyed more than 600 top bankers and also consulted tech industry experts and academics. Artificial intelligence -- the technology behind driverless cars, drones and voice-recognition software -- is seen by the financial world as a key technology which, along with other "fintech" innovations such as blockchain, will change the face of banking in the coming years. More than three quarters of respondents to the survey believed that AI would enable more simple user interfaces, which would help banks create a more human-like customer experience. "The big paradox here is that people think technology will lead to banking becoming more and more automated and less and less personalized, but what we've seen coming through here is the view that technology will actually help banking become a lot more personalized," said Alan McIntyre, head of the Accenture's banking practice and co-author of the report. "(It) will give people the impression that the bank knows them a lot better, and in many ways it will take banking back to the feeling that people had when there were more human interactions."

Eighty-six percent of bank executives agree that the widespread use of AI provides for a competitive advantage beyond cost. The newfound awareness of artificial intelligence to power change, growth and innovation points to more opportunities for banks to improve their operations. Banks that capture competitive value from intelligent automation in their digital transformation must master its secret sauce: pairing intelligent automation with people to fundamentally change the way bank employees work and the type of work they do. It means making important adjustments to the bank's organization, culture and skillsets to develop people with confidence.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will become the primary way banks interact with their customers within the next three years, according to a new report. Four in five bankers believe AI will'revolutionize' the way in which banks gather information as well as how they interact with their clients. More than three quarters of respondents to the survey believed that AI would enable more simple user interfaces, which would help banks create a more human-like customer experience. AI will become the primary way banks interact with their customers within the next three years, according to a new report. Four in five bankers believe AI will'revolutionize' the way in which banks gather information as well as how they interact with their clients The new report, the Accenture Banking Technology Vision 2017 report, surveyed more than 600 top bankers and also consulted tech industry experts and academics.

Big data is no longer the hot buzzword it was a few years ago that people strained their brains to understand. It's now entered the mainstream and can be viewed as an extension of traditional data crunching. That's one of the takeaways from a Deloitte report on trends in data analytics released on Wednesday. "Big data and traditional analytics are merging," said Tom Davenport, an independent senior advisor to Deloitte who helped write the report and who is also a Babson College professor. "It's getting harder and harder to distinguish the two."

Approximately 32 percent of existing UK jobs in financial services and insurance could be automated by robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) over the next 15 years, according to a new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. And other industries are even more at risk. For example, 56 percent of existing transportation and storage jobs could be at risk from automation by 2030, while 46 percent of current manufacturing jobs could be automated, and 44 percent of wholesale and retail jobs are headed for automation, PwC revealed in its latest UK Economic Outlook report. Conversely, the threat of automation is lower in other sectors such as education (9 percent) and health and social work (17 percent), PwC said. Overall, up to 30 percent of existing UK jobs could be automated by 2030, which is a lower proportion than those at risk in the US (38 percent) and Germany (35 percent), but more than Japan (21 percent), the study added.

This publication examines the areas where the AI continuum could be applicable, as well as a robust AI policy framework that needs to touch upon the social, economic and ethical considerations of a well-governed society.

Is a guaranteed paycheck from the government, with no strings attached, the answer to the relentless rise of automation? The concept might sound far-fetched, but a so-called universal basic income (UBI), is currently one of the most hotly debated policy topics being floated as a means to address income inequality and the disruption that technology poses to the workforce. UBI is being tested in Finland and other international markets, but has received decidedly mixed reactions. Meanwhile, developments in robotics and artificial intelligence have grave implications for the labor force. A report issued this week from consulting firm PwC found that more than a third of U.S. jobs were at risk from automation, upping the ante for policy makers to cushion the blow to workers. Advocates for UBI argue that a guaranteed paycheck could serve as a way to fight poverty and uncertainty in an evolving U.S. economy, and encourage workers to take more risks in the job market if they had some extra money as a cushion.

Up to one-third of Britishjobscould be taken over by robots by the early 2030s, impacting 10 million Britons but with women less likely to face redundancy, a UK study showed. The research, by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, found 30 percent of UK jobs could face automation compared to 38 percent in the United States, 35 percent in Germany, and 21 percent in Japan. Researchers, however, said this wouldn't necessarily lead to less employment as jobs may change rather than disappear. But the distinction between men and women was clear, with PwC estimating 35 percent of men's jobs were at risk compared to 26 percent of women's because of the high number of women in sectors requiring social skills like education and health. Male workers are also more concentrated in jobs requiring lower education levels, like transportation and manufacturing.

Robotics and artificial intelligence could affect almost a third of UK jobs by the 2030s, according to a study. However, the report from accountancy firm PwC also predicted that the nature of some occupations would change rather than disappear. It added that automation could create more wealth and additional jobs elsewhere in the economy. Jobs in manufacturing and retail were among the most at risk from the new technologies, the report said. The study estimated that 30% of existing jobs in the UK were potentially at a high risk of automation, compared with 38% in the US, 35% in Germany and 21% in Japan.

AI is one the 2017's big buzzwords. The new technology is exciting and offers a plethora of possibilities that were once reserved solely for our wildest dreams and cinema screens. However, with the advancements in AI also comes fear. People are worried about how many jobs will be lost to artificial intelligence. PwC has released a new study centred on the future of the UK's economy.