NatWest to train 60,000 staff in Ethics of AI

NatWest is to put all of its 60,000-strong staff through training on the behavioral risks of artificial intelligence, as the high street lender rushes to integrate the technology into every corner of its operations.

The FTSE 100 bank said the course, which will take staff two to three months to complete, is designed to build a “strong culture of responsible AI” as the tools move away from the fringes of everyday banking. It is based on an initiative NatWest started with the University of Edinburgh, which is now open to the whole business as more partners access the technology.

The rollout comes at a time when British banks are racing to show they can use AI faster and more responsibly than their rivals. Barclays and Lloyds have both joined the Financial Conduct Authority’s AI testing sandbox, and Barclays has said it will lean more heavily on the technology as it aims to cut costs by £2bn by 2028. NatWest, meanwhile, has already developed its AI chatbot to provide more “human” interaction as it continues to close branches.

The thinking is straightforward enough. Lenders hope that AI will sharpen the productivity of their people and drive costs out of the business. Yet that promise has fueled fears that large numbers of jobs could become automated, and raised tough questions about how workers use powerful technology safely and impartially.

Paul Dongha, head of AI strategy for NatWest, said the bank wanted to “equip our colleagues with the skills and confidence to use them responsibly” as AI became “more central to how we help customers and manage our bank”. The course, he added, will give employees “effective tools to identify risks, ask the right questions and make better decisions in their daily work”.

The training itself was developed in partnership with the University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh Futures Institute, whose AI and NatWest data program includes classroom teaching on the basics of AI and data privacy issues, principles and wider implications for society and business. Having conducted training for leaders and select partners, the bank is now extending it to the entire team, part of a broader drive to build an AI-savvy workforce.

The drive is from above. Paul Thwaite, chief executive, has put NatWest at the forefront of the industry’s race to adopt AI. Speaking at The Times CEO Summit, he said “the prize for the economy of the country, but also for businesses like mine, is how quickly and effectively you can take it”, arguing that technology “cuts across all lines of our business. I don’t think there’s a role that’s really untouchable.”

Thwaite was not secretive about what that means for jobs. While AI can raise the productivity of white-collar workers, there are real concerns that it will replace many of them entirely. Over time, he told the conference, “there will be existing roles that will address all intents and purposes. [will be] brought on by AI”. That warning echoes a broader squeeze on entry-level work, with junior roles in finance and accounting among those hardest hit as employers cut back on hiring graduates and turn to AI.

The make-up of NatWest has already changed significantly. More than a quarter of the team’s employees now work in applications engineering, which is an impressive figure for an institution that many customers consider a place to store their current account. The bank’s bet that the next phase of growth is automation, teaching 60,000 people how to use technology wisely seems less like a good thing and more like a necessary insurance policy.