Page 41 - The European Business Review

Three Waves of Machines production facilities and wastage in the supply chain
Of all the breakthrough technologies applicable should become headaches of the past. Freed from
WR ÀQDQFH WKH H[SORVLRQ RI PDFKLQH OHDUQLQJ DQG the pressure to vertically integrate and with far fewer
DUWLÀFLDO LQWHOOLJHQFH VHHPV WKH PRVW SURPLVLQJ resources needed for organisational coordination,
One of the most radical improvements in recent smaller players will be able to specialise in best-
years has been how machines learn. For data scien- in-class services and deliver extremely customised
tists and machine-learning experts, March 2016 VROXWLRQV LQ UHDO WLPH ZKHQ VSHFLÀF GHPDQGV DULVH
was a momentous month. AlphaGo, a computer
program developed by Google, beat world cham-
pion Lee Sedol at the ancient Chinese board game OF ALL THE BREAKTHROUGH
3
of Go by a score of 4 to 1. Before AlphaGo
played the board game Go against humans, Google TECHNOLOGIES APPLICABLE
researchers had been developing it to play video
games: Space Invaders, Breakout, Pong, and others. 4 TO FINANCE, THE EXPLOSION
:LWKRXW WKH QHHG IRU DQ\ VSHFLÀF SURJUDPPLQJ OF MACHINE LEARNING AND
the general-purpose algorithm was able to master
each game by trial and error, pressing different ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SEEMS

EXWWRQV UDQGRPO\ DW ÀUVW DQG WKHQ DGMXVWLQJ WR THE MOST PROMISING.
maximise rewards.
Game after game, the software proved to be
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strategy and then applying it without making any $W &UHGLW 6XLVVH ZH FDQ REVHUYH ÀUVW KDQG
mistakes. That’s why AlphaGo represents not just how intelligent computing has improved opera-
a machine that can think – like IBM Watson – but WLRQDO HIÀFLHQF\ 2QH RI WKH PRVW FRPSOH[ DUHDV
also one that learns and strategises, all without direct where innovative technologies play a key role in
supervision from humans. LPSURYLQJ RSHUDWLRQDO HIÀFLHQF\ DQG UHGXFLQJ ULVNV
This general-purpose programming was made is compliance. In the second half of 2016, Credit
possible thanks to a deep neural network: a network Suisse’s compliance department launched an initi-
of hardware and software that mimics the web ative crucial from both business and regulatory
5
of neurons in the human brain. Reinforcement perspectives. The project aimed to enable a holistic
learning occurs in humans when positive feedback view of all its client relationships – “Single Client
triggers the production of the neurotransmitter View” – and consisted of designing and imple-
dopamine as a reward signal for the brain, resulting menting a technology-based solution capable of
LQ IHHOLQJV RI JUDWLÀFDWLRQ DQG SOHDVXUH &RPSXWHUV consolidating client-related data from all regions
can be programmed to work similarly, and the posi- into a single platform. The two key challenges were
tive rewards come in the form of scores when the making data from different systems compatible
algorithm achieves a desired outcome. Under this and accessing it in real-time from any location to
general framework, AlphaGo writes its own instruc- effectively detect and mitigate potential risks. The
tions randomly through many instances of trial and project was launched in December 2016, with the
error, replacing lower-scoring strategies with higher- initial scope of client data covering natural persons
scoring ones. That’s how an algorithm teaches itself in our retail and international wealth management
to play anything, not just Go. businesses booked out of Switzerland. Next, the
It is easy to imagine a world where self-taught team focussed on continuously adding additional
algorithms play a much bigger role in coordinating client data, improving the data quality, enhancing
economic transactions; AlphaGo simply shows functionality, and rolling out the technology globally
us what may be possible in the near future. With to more users. We are now able to review and assess
instantaneous adjustment, automatic optimisation, FOLHQW LQIRUPDWLRQ VLJQLÀFDQWO\ IDVWHU WKDQ EHIRUH
and continuous improvement all quietly managed adopting a multijurisdictional view and simplifying
by unsupervised algorithms, the redundancy of the projection of complex client relationships.

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