Responsible and ethical use of emerging technology

Emerging technologies such as digital interfaces and data analytics tools are rapidly transforming the financial services industry. These innovative technologies help financial services companies to reach more customers and meet them on their own terms. In fact, these tools have been a necessity in the pandemic world. Deployment of such new technologies, however, requires a careful consideration of risks. With customers’ financial interest and trust at the forefront, companies must be mindful of the complexity of emerging risks. The pace of change is rapid, and regulations are constantly evolving. While consumers expect ease of doing business, they are also increasingly concerned about data and privacy issues. Compliance & Ethics professionals are constantly challenged with balancing risk and innovation. Nevertheless, they can also act as enablers and catalysts by focusing on the responsible and ethical use of emerging technology. In this paper, we introduce readers to the tenets of responsible and ethical use of technology and data; namely, technology should be purposeful, humanistic, ethical and should work for all consumers. We then provide practical ideas and insights to create compliance programmes aimed at business owners, consumers and employees. These programmes include digital risk assessments, digital upskilling, digital and data compliance programmes and data ethics principles.