By John San Filippo
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming industries, and credit unions are no exception. Lamont Black, a leading industry expert on crypto and blockchain for credit unions, has begun working with credit unions on AI strategy and implementation. He offered Finopotamus valuable insights on how credit unions can best navigate the technological shift to AI.
Management Is Key
One common misconception Black addressed is the fear of AI completely replacing human jobs. “I think a common misconception is that AI replaces people at credit unions. I think it more complements people,” Black clarified. He emphasized the importance of viewing AI as a tool to enhance employee effectiveness, not as a replacement. This aligns with his broader view of implementing any cultural shift within credit unions: “I think communication from the top is super important, but I’m also a big fan of bottom-up culture. So, creating listening groups, creating working groups, because there’s a lot of people in these organizations that know way more about AI than the people at the top.”
Even so, communication from the top is essential. “That’s really what the leadership team needs to do to assure them,” he added. He stressed that communicating the goal of efficient growth without necessarily increasing headcount is key. “They’re not looking to cut headcount; they’re looking to grow without massively expanding headcount, so it’s typically not laying people off.” He also acknowledged that job roles will evolve and that some employees may need to adapt to new roles.
Black noted the anxiety surrounding AI and the perceived pressure to implement everything at once. He advises credit unions to “break it down into smaller steps.” Rather than rushing into full-scale adoption, he advocates for a measured, strategic approach. “I think people get very anxious about AI, especially this idea of automating everything all at once.”
Plan First, Shop Later
Black advises credit unions to start with an overarching strategy before simply shopping for vendor products. He explained, “I’m trying to get them to step away from that approach into a form of a broader vision and strategy around AI adoption. Why are they doing it? What are they hoping to accomplish? What do they need to buy or pay for through a vendor? And most important, what can they potentially do internally?”
Black acknowledged that simply shopping for vendors can lead to considerable confusion. “A hundred percent. There’s a lot of different vendors out there who are using AI and sometimes they are doing different things and calling it the same thing. Sometimes they’re doing the same thing and calling it different things, so there can be a lot of confusion,” Black explained. He recommends education for board members and leadership teams, empowering them to “ask hard questions so that they don’t just have to rely on what the vendors are telling them, but they can also push back and challenge and really understand whether it makes sense for them.”
Addressing the use of publicly available AI tools like ChatGPT, Black cautioned against data security risks. “Credit unions need to be very careful from a data and security perspective,” he warned. He stressed the importance of secure instances to prevent sensitive data from being used for training these models. Black emphasized that AI is just a tool and that proper training is crucial. “It’s just a tool, and you have to train people how to use it.”
He also encourages credit unions to start with internal, employee-facing applications before venturing into member-facing AI, especially with generative AI. “I wouldn’t recommend that credit unions start there because that’s much higher stakes,” Black said. He advised a human-in-the-loop approach to avoid over-reliance on AI output, because even with AI, he said mistakes can happen. “Trust but verify... I like the idea of best of both worlds because they make different types of mistakes. And if we combine them, then hopefully we can minimize both.”
Where to Start
As for a starting point, Black recommends employee-facing knowledge base assistants to improve access to information within the credit union. “Every credit union has a knowledge base and then people needing to access that information. Typically, it’s not very accurate, or it just pulls up the document, but not the actual reference, he explained. “These AI agents that can search, find the context, pull out the right piece and give you the answer are super helpful.” He also suggests exploring AI tools in contact centers to help employees assist members more efficiently.
Black’s key takeaway is that credit unions should approach AI strategically, prioritize education and communication, and focus on leveraging AI to empower their employees and improve services. He remains optimistic about the future of credit unions in the age of AI and encourages them to embrace change. “AI is changing the world around us and I don’t want to see credit unions getting left behind,” Black concluded.