Collaboration between CISI and HKSI Institute for Enhancing Ethical AI Competency in Hong Kong's Financial Sector
Article Title: HKSI Institute and CISI Collaborate to Address Ethical AI Challenges in Global Financial Services
In a groundbreaking collaboration, the Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute (HKSI Institute) and the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) have joined forces to launch the Certificate in Ethical Artificial Intelligence program. This initiative aims to help professionals navigate the key ethical issues arising from the use of AI in global financial services.
The program, now accessible to the HKSI Institute's network of learners, focuses on enhancing understanding of ethical concerns such as bias, transparency, accountability, and safety. These issues are increasingly pertinent as AI becomes more advanced and widespread in the financial sector.
The program addresses several key ethical issues, aligning closely with the broader concerns identified in the latest research and industry discussions. These focal points include:
- Algorithmic Bias and Fairness: AI systems in finance often rely on data that may be biased or incomplete, risking unfair treatment of marginalized groups. The program advocates for fairness-aware machine learning techniques, continual audits, and inclusive datasets to reduce bias and ensure equitable financial decisions.
- Transparency and Explainability: Financial AI systems, especially those using complex models, are often "black boxes" that lack clear decision-making transparency. The program emphasizes the need for understandable explanations of AI decisions to maintain trust and accountability.
- Data Privacy and Security: AI systems handle highly sensitive personal and financial data. The program underscores the importance of ensuring privacy compliance and preventing unauthorized data use, with a focus on strict controls to avoid misuse or breaches.
- Autonomy and Control of Agentic AI Systems: Increasingly autonomous AI agents introduce risks of goal misalignment and loss of human control. The program stresses the need for rigorous governance to ensure AI actions remain within ethical, legal, and regulatory boundaries.
- Regulatory Compliance and Governance: Financial institutions must navigate evolving regulatory landscapes. The program advocates for proper governance frameworks to balance AI innovation with oversight to prevent systemic risks, reputational damage, or consumer harm.
- Systemic Risk and Operational Dependencies: Heavy reliance on AI introduces vulnerabilities such as opaque decision chains, cybersecurity risks, and operational dependencies that could destabilize financial systems. The program highlights the importance of managing these risks effectively.
This collaboration between the CISI and HKSI Institute offers timely modules that introduce AI and its development trends, providing future-ready insights and practical approaches to address real-world challenges and advance professional standards.
Tracy Vegro, OBE and CISI Chief Executive Officer, expressed delight in partnering with the HKSI Institute to support members and practitioners on their AI learning journey. The HKSI Institute, dedicated to advancing the financial services industry, achieves this through training, examinations, and member engagement.
The modules, taken from the award-winning CISI Certificate in Ethical Artificial Intelligence, are available on the HKSI Institute learning platform. The program offers three modules covering professional codes of conduct, the technical, operational, and ethical risks of AI systems, and effective risk management strategies.
The HKSI Institute, a professional membership organisation, is committed to promoting, raising, and reinforcing the highest standards in the financial services industry. The CISI, on the other hand, offers qualifications and lifelong e-learning opportunities for those in global capital markets, financial planning, and wealth management professions.
This partnership is a significant step towards ensuring fairness, transparency, privacy, accountability, and systemic stability within a rapidly evolving technological and regulatory environment. By adopting ethical principles, robust governance, and a human-centered approach to AI development, the financial services industry can continue to innovate while maintaining trust and integrity.
[1] AI Now Institute (2018). Artificial Intelligence and Fairness: A Survey of Existing Work. [2] European Parliament (2019). Artificial Intelligence Act. [3] Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (2021). Guidelines on ethical AI. [4] Financial Conduct Authority (2021). AI and machine learning: Approach and expectations.
- The Certificate in Ethical Artificial Intelligence program, a result of collaboration between HKSI Institute and CISI, aims to equip professionals in the business sector, particularly finance, with education-and-self-development opportunities focused on risk management strategies related to AI technology.
- By addressing algorithmic bias and fairness, transparency and explainability, data privacy and security, autonomy and control of agentic AI systems, regulatory compliance and governance, systemic risk and operational dependencies, and promoting a human-centered approach, this program encourages adoption of ethical principles in risk management, thereby fostering trust, integrity, and systemic stability within the financial services industry.
