Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies continue to expand in their applications, uses and benefits for lenders and financial institutions. Because of this maturity and expanded adoption rate, AI/ML is helping to solve highly complex solutions that generate positive ROI across business segments. A majority of financial services providers and lenders acknowledge they are deploying these technologies across their businesses to support areas such as risk management, reducing friction in loan origination departments, income and verification controls, fraud reduction, and the compliance and auditing processes. Ultimately, financial services providers continue to strive toward lowering the cost of credit using AI/ML for real-time transparency, greater financial inclusivity, and improved compliance. Conversational chatbots help lenders interact with customers in a more conversational way. Consumers desire the same level of customer service they receive from leading tech-forward companies like Amazon, Netflix and Lyft.

Specialty auto lenders are unheralded champions of the economy -- they make auto loans available to people with below average credit who would otherwise be unable to buy a car. These cars help people get to work, travel and elevate themselves in life, driving short-term and long-term economic benefits. Specialty auto lenders face heavy regulatory scrutiny, significant capital requirements, high business cyclicality and difficult relationships with the media, which is often quick to label these businesses as predatory. The industry's challenges have been frequently highlighted in news coverage, including articles from Bloomberg, Business Insider and the Wall Street Journal. Despite the challenges, specialty auto lenders have an imperative to approve as many creditworthy applicants as possible.

Never has the issue of economic inequality in America been more prominent. The coronavirus pandemic and growing social unrest have exposed the fragile financial health of our country's low-income population. Consider hourly workers, who face real economic peril because of a diminished earning capacity. According to Yahoo! Finance, the federal minimum wage has remained flat at $7.25 per hour $15,080 a year for the past eleven years. Yet, the 1968 minimum wage of $1.60 equals $11.79 per hour or $24,523 per year in in 2020 dollars. Editor Andrew Serwer pointed out that means minimum wage earning Americans are actually taking home 38% less today than they did 52 years ago.