NAB calls for practical generative AI tools

NAB sees value in regulating the expansion of generative AI, not simply trusting on face value assurances from adoptees that they will do no harm.

Head of group innovation Antony Burrows said during a RegTech Association talk that practical tools and standards delivered via an expanded regulatory framework could be “a better starting point than thinking" a kind of Hippocratic oath is sufficient.

The oath is usually associated with the practice of medicine and the ethics of practitioners.

"Practical application of tools and of standards, together with an expansion of the existing regulatory framework, is - in my mind - a better starting point [for generative AI] than thinking through oaths," Burrows said.

"I'm certainly not ruling [oaths] out. I just think that's a good point to start.”

During The Implications of Generative AI on the RegTech Ecosystem discussion, Burrows said “where we can be really effective is probably a few more practical things than an oath”.

Burrows said one example is NAB’s support of the concept of a “government certification of industry standards, around the safe and responsible use of AI, which could be based on existing AI ethics and principles.”

“Something along those lines could actually really be a bit more toothy … or more standardised than an oath," he said.

“Another area that I think would be quite interesting is actual practical development of tools to enable the ethical use of these sorts of technologies."

He pointed to NAB’s partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission [pdf] “to actually develop an AI human rights impact assessment tool”.

Under the plan, the Australian Human Rights Commission and NAB aim to develop a human rights impact assessment tool for artificial intelligence-informed decision-making systems in banking, called a HRIA Tool.  

This would be for when banks begin to look into “things that actually lets people who are developing those processes and tools, use the tool to inform the conversation and explore the areas they need to,” Burrows said.

NAB has previously said it is establishing foundations for substantial transformation using artificial intelligence, as it moves forward with multiple implementation plans.

NAB CEO Ross McEwan said back in June the bank intends to take a “crawl first” approach to delivering its AI operations.

Burrows also followed with similar sentiments stating NAB “is taking very much in terms of generative AI a sort of crawl, walk, run approach”.

“Anything that we start to do in this space, where we would potentially be relying on data that might be coming from generative AI source, there's going to be a lot of hyper vigilance.

“We're not just going to put something straight out without doing that extra level and we get to work through that [and] test and learn those controls.

“Part of the testing of the new features, enables us to test the features as well as to test the controls and the processes that underpin them,” Burrows said.