Latest news with #Barnum
Finextra
21-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Fewer than 1 in 4 banks ready for AI era
A vast majority of banks are unprepared for the advent of artificial intelligence, according to recently published research 0 This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. A report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that almost all banks have invested in AI technology, yet less than 1 in 4 have progressed from pilots and proof of concepts to fully implement the technology into their daily operations. "The leap from predictive analytics to generative AI—and now to fully autonomous, agentic systems—is here," states the report. "AI is no longer a fringe experiment; it's the engine of next-generation banking. Customer interactions, loan approvals, fraud detection, even compliance monitoring: all are ripe for reinvention." Yet a recent BCG survey finds that only 25% of institutions have "woven these capabilities into their strategic playbook" states the report. "The other 75% remain stuck in siloed pilots and proofs of concept, risking irrelevance as digital-first competitors accelerate ahead. Most banks are deploying AI toward basic activities—not those that lead to transformation." According to BCG, banks must move beyond pilots to redefine strategy, technology and governance - or "risk losing control of the financial landscape to faster movers". "Early movers will set the pace—and the terms—of AI competition," states the report. "Lagging banks will find themselves racing to catch up under conditions they didn't choose." The publication of the report comes at an important time for AI in financial services on both sides of the Atlantic. The EU's AI Act came into force in August 2024. Meanwhile, the US largest bank, JP Morgan Chase, recently suggested it intends to ramp up its use of AI to increase efficiency while also calling for a slowdown in hiring. The bank's CFO, Jeremy Barnum, told investors at a meeting in New York that recruitment is set to slow following the appointment of 60,000 people over the last five years, equivalent to a 23% increase in head count. 'We're asking people to resist head count growth where possible and increase their focus on efficiency,' said Barnum, in comments reported by Business Insider.
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
JPMorgan Chase CFO issues stern warning to employees
Over the past few months, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has developed a tense relationship with some of its employees after it decided to scale back remote work. In March, the company's new return-to-office mandate went into effect. This mandate requires employees to work in the office five days a week instead of three or four. Before the mandate was enacted, some employees protested the change by starting a petition on demanding that the company retain its hybrid work model. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter In response to the petition, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon went on a foul-mouthed rant during a town hall meeting in February, stating that he doesn't care how many people signed the petition; the return-to-office mandate will not be adjusted. Related: Jamie Dimon claps back at return-to-office complaints, again Dimon later apologized in an interview with CNBC for cursing during the meeting, but doubled down on the company's return-to-office mandate. "I completely respect people that don't want to go to the office all five days a week," said Dimon. "That's your right. It's my right. It's a citizen's right. But they should respect that the company is going to decide what's good for the clients, the company, etc., not an individual. And so, I'm not being mean; they can get a job elsewhere." Image source:Now that the mandate is in full effect, JPMorgan Chase is warning employees to brace themselves for another significant change in the office. During JPMorgan Chase's annual Investor Day presentation, the company's CFO, Jeremy Barnum, said that managers have recently been instructed to wind down hiring, pushing them to work better with their current employee headcount, according to a recent report from Business Insider. "At the margin, we're asking people to resist head count growth where possible and increase their focus on efficiency," said Barnum. He said that less than $95 billion in annual spending will be used for hiring, and that the company will instead focus more on hiring employees in "high-certainty areas" such as bankers, branches, and advisors. Related: IRS has an alarming solution to a growing problem after layoffs Barnum also said that artificial intelligence will be used to boost productivity. "It's actually pretty amazing, and from what certain of my colleagues tell me who are actually trained professional computer scientists, it (AI) actually helps them quite a bit too with their efficiency," said Barnum. "It's not just the amateurs who are helped by these tools. It's amazing stuff, and we have high hopes for the efficiency gain." Marianne Lake, JPMorgan Chase CEO of consumer and community banking, said during the presentation that about 10% of employees in the company's operations division, which is focused on tackling fraud, statement and payment processing, and account services, will be laid off. She also highlighted that AI will allow the department to operate with fewer employees and "deliver more." The last time JPMorgan Chase reportedly laid off a significant amount of employees was in February, when it let go a little less than 1,000 workers. JPMorgan Chase isn't the only company that has recently bet big on AI. The IRS currently has its sights set on firing between 60,000 and 70,000 workers this year. During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on May 6, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the IRS will replace fired workers with AI, which will boost its ability to collect tax revenue. More Labor: Amazon CEO gives hard-nosed message to employeesIBM gives employees a rude awakening with harsh new policySnapchat CEO teaches new employees a strict lesson "I believe through smarter IT, through this AI boom that we can use that to enhance collections, and I would expect that collections would continue to be very robust as they were this year," said Bessent during the hearing. Tech giant IBM has also increased its reliance on AI. Its CEO, Arvind Krishna, said during a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal that the company has heavily invested in AI, which has replaced hundreds of HR workers but has resulted in more hiring at the company. "While we have done a huge amount of work inside IBM on leveraging AI and automation on certain enterprise workflows, our total employment has actually gone up, because what it does is it gives you more investment to put into other areas," said Krishna. As more companies rely on AI to boost productivity, U.S. workers are suspicious of the technology. According to a recent survey from YouGov, more than one-third of U.S. workers are worried that AI will result in job loss or fewer work hours. Also, 56% of workers in the survey believe that AI will decrease the number of job opportunities, and 55% think that their work hours will be reduced due to the technology. Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
JPMorgan Big Move: $18 Billion Tech Spend Signals AI Push for 2025
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) said it plans to invest approximately $18 billion in technology next year, with a focus on AI to drive productivity and support volume growth, according to a Monday investor presentation. The bank reaffirmed its full-year 2025 guidance for total expenses of around $95 billion. It also maintained its net interest income forecast at roughly $90 billion, excluding Markets, and $94.5 billion on a firmwide basis. Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum noted that while headcount has grown by about 4% annually over the past five years, the company sees room to increase operational efficiency. We continue to invest through the cycle, while simultaneously focusing on extracting efficiencies, Barnum said in the presentation slides. Despite the focus on trimming inefficiencies, JPMorgan said it remains committed to resourcing key areas such as bankers, advisors, and branches. The firm reported Q1 2025 credit reserves of $16.9 billion in its consumer division and $10.5 billion across wholesale operations. Its common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital stood at $280 billion, including $57 billion above regulatory requirements. Investor Day presentations began Monday morning and featured updates from all major business segments. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs in row over fossilised faeces
The BBC has been accused of misleading viewers over fossilised dinosaur faeces. A 2ft-long slab of ancient Tyrannosaurus Rex excrement is shown in the first episode of the broadcaster's new Walking With Dinosaurs programme. However, this fossil was found at the site six years ago and was not unearthed during a recent dig. The show does not acknowledge this and has been criticised for insinuating that it was a contemporary finding. The programme focuses primarily on a three-year-old Triceratops called Clover and tells the story of her trying to avoid a T-Rex with visual effects and CGI. But it also shows other fossils being unearthed at a site in Montana, and then later cuts to researchers analysing a slab of rock which is revealed to be T-Rex excrement. 'The team has tracked down a remarkable fossil with a chilling tale to tell,' the narrator says. 'It may look like a nondescript bit of rock but the shape and texture tell the experts this is a coprolite – fossilised faeces.' However, the specimen was first dug up in 2019 at the Hell Creek excavation site in Montana, and has been on display at an Arizona museum since 2020. It holds the world record for the largest coprolite by a carnivorous animal and is called Barnum after the person to first find the fossil. The fossil was not dug up at the site while the show was being filmed, leading to accusations of 'misleading' viewers. The BBC programme never said it was found during filming and does not show it being dug up, despite it being shown alongside modern footage. Alec Shelbrooke, the Tory MP for Wetherby and Easingwold, called the programme 'totally misleading' for how it integrated the Barnum specimen into the show. 'The BBC must always remember that education is at the core of its charter,' he told the Daily Mail. 'A public sector broadcaster must employ the highest standards when making documentaries, and not become distracted by a desire to entertain. 'We're seeing too many programmes like this which don't actually portray the facts. I would expect an organisation like the BBC to be absolutely crystal clear about what is being shown and not try to cheat viewers.' A BBC spokesman said: 'The programme does not say that this coprolite specimen was found at the dig site. 'As the commentary says: 'The team has tracked down a remarkable fossil with a chilling tale to tell'. 'The specimen comes from the collection of coprolite specialist George Frandsen. It was brought to the site to illustrate what T-Rex commonly ate, which was important information for the story. 'Palaeontologists sometimes bring fossils into the field when attempting to build a wider picture of the prehistoric landscape they are studying. 'The coprolite specimen was used during the course of filming in exactly this manner.' Steve Brusatte, consultant and palaeontologist on Walking With Dinosaurs, said: 'There isn't anything remotely fake about it. 'The fossil coprolite is genuine, and the voiceover makes it clear that the palaeontologists tracked down the fossil from elsewhere, so I don't see what the issue is. 'If they, say, reburied the coprolite and reenacted it being dug up, then that would be misleading, but that isn't what is shown on screen. 'Sometimes palaeontologists do bring fossils discovered previously to a dig site, to compare to the fossils they are finding, or to help train their team, and we've done this before on digs I've been on.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs in row over fossilised faeces
The BBC has been accused of misleading viewers over fossilised dinosaur faeces. A 2ft-long slab of ancient Tyrannosaurus Rex excrement is shown in the first episode of the broadcaster's new Walking With Dinosaurs programme. However, this fossil was found at the site six years ago and was not unearthed during a recent dig. The show does not acknowledge this and has been criticised for insinuating that it was a contemporary finding. The programme focuses primarily on a three-year-old Triceratops called Clover and tells the story of her trying to avoid a T-Rex with visual effects and CGI. But it also shows other fossils being unearthed at a site in Montana, and then later cuts to researchers analysing a slab of rock which is revealed to be T-Rex excrement. 'The team has tracked down a remarkable fossil with a chilling tale to tell,' the narrator says. 'It may look like a nondescript bit of rock but the shape and texture tell the experts this is a coprolite – fossilised faeces.' However, the specimen was first dug up in 2019 at the Hell Creek excavation site in Montana, and has been on display at an Arizona museum since 2020. It holds the world record for the largest coprolite by a carnivorous animal and is called Barnum after the person to first find the fossil. 'Totally misleading' The fossil was not dug up at the site while the show was being filmed, leading to accusations of 'misleading' viewers. The BBC programme never said it was found during filming and does not show it being dug up, despite it being shown alongside modern footage. Alec Shelbrooke, the Tory MP for Wetherby and Easingwold, called the programme 'totally misleading' for how it integrated the Barnum specimen into the show. 'The BBC must always remember that education is at the core of its charter,' he told the Daily Mail. 'A public sector broadcaster must employ the highest standards when making documentaries, and not become distracted by a desire to entertain. 'We're seeing too many programmes like this which don't actually portray the facts. I would expect an organisation like the BBC to be absolutely crystal clear about what is being shown and not try to cheat viewers.' A BBC spokesman said: 'The programme does not say that this coprolite specimen was found at the dig site. 'As the commentary says: 'The team has tracked down a remarkable fossil with a chilling tale to tell'. 'The specimen comes from the collection of coprolite specialist George Frandsen. It was brought to the site to illustrate what T-Rex commonly ate, which was important information for the story. 'Palaeontologists sometimes bring fossils into the field when attempting to build a wider picture of the prehistoric landscape they are studying. 'The coprolite specimen was used during the course of filming in exactly this manner.' 'Nothing fake about it' Steve Brusatte, consultant and palaeontologist on Walking With Dinosaurs, said: 'There isn't anything remotely fake about it. 'The fossil coprolite is genuine, and the voiceover makes it clear that the palaeontologists tracked down the fossil from elsewhere, so I don't see what the issue is. 'If they, say, reburied the coprolite and reenacted it being dug up, then that would be misleading, but that isn't what is shown on screen. 'Sometimes palaeontologists do bring fossils discovered previously to a dig site, to compare to the fossils they are finding, or to help train their team, and we've done this before on digs I've been on.'
