Abstract

Emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technologies provide banks unprecedented opportunities to deliver faster, more personalised, and seamless client experiences. However, the adoption of AI in business operations is accompanied by inherent risks, such as model hallucinations and data bias, that should be carefully managed.

This case centres on The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and gives an opportunity for students to explore how the bank might leverage AI to enhance the operational efficiency of its relationship managers (RMs) to serve their clients while mitigating associated risks.

Using this case, students have the chance to examine how an AI solution can be designed to address the day-to-day operational challenges faced by RMs, such as manual onboarding, compliance checks, and fragmented client data. The case encourages students to consider an AI solution that integrates both technical safeguards (such as bias mitigation and model validation) and operational controls, including human verification of AI outputs, to ensure responsible deployment. A further challenge lies in quantifying the business impact of AI. The case allows students to explore how to define meaningful KPIs that can demonstrate improvements in productivity, operational excellence, and alignment with strategic objectives.

Upon completion of the case, students will be able to critically assess the challenges of implementing AI in a banking context and propose a practical, risk-aware AI solution that meets both business and compliance requirements.

Learning Objectives

1. Assess the strategic benefits and inherent limitations of applying AI to enhance business operations.

2. Identify key operational challenges within a business context and propose and evaluate how specific AI solutions can address them.

3. Critically analyse the risks associated with AI technologies, including model hallucinations and data bias, and formulate appropriate mitigation strategies.

4. Develop a framework for measuring and quantifying the impact of AI solutions on business performance and operational efficiency.