Japan’s Top Bank CEOs Push for AI, Soothe Worry Over Human Work

The heads of Japan’s largest financial firms are doing their best to allay concerns that artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. “I don’t think people will lose their values. People have the ability for dialogue, empathy, creativity and ethics,” Chief Executive Masahiro Kihara said at an event hosted by Nikkei on Thursday. “People may ask: ‘What will happen to my job if we use more AI?’ “I think they can target more value-added businesses.”

Banks around the world are grappling with how to adapt to artificial intelligence as the technology appears to increase efficiency while changing the nature of work. In Japan, where the financial sector employs hundreds of thousands of people, discussions about artificial intelligence and its impact on business are gaining momentum.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc., Japan’s second-largest brokerage after Nomura Holdings Inc., has told executives to use artificial intelligence “as much as possible,” CEO Akihiko Ogino said at the same event. He said the firm should “collaborate” with technology as it speeds up decision-making and helps employees perform better.

Hironori Kamezawa, CEO of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., the country’s largest banking group, said artificial intelligence will be a partner, not just a tool. “We need to transform ourselves into a native artificial intelligence company.” Kamezawa spent much of the firm’s most recent annual report pondering the essence of artificial intelligence, concluding that what is required of humans is “the ability to think and act at a higher level.”

For Kentaro Okuda, Nomura’s CEO, it’s just a division of labor. “Let AI do what AI can do and let humans do value-added work,” Okuda said. “This works in a positive way in an aging Japan.”

With help from Hideki Suzuki, Ryo Horiuchi and Russell Ward.

This article has been generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.