Latest news with #Filan
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What are AI agents and which jobs are they coming for first?
For months, Silicon Valley has raved about the potential for AI agents to transform the way we work and live. While much of the public's attention has been glued to generative AI programs such as ChatGPT, major AI companies are locked in a tight race to refine large language models to the point that they have the capability to execute tasks on their own. In a January 2025 blog entry, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman predicted that this will be the year when 'the first AI agents 'join the workforce' and materially change the output of companies.' But what exactly is an AI agent and how likely is it that they will not just assist but replace human workers? The Financial Post's Yvonne Lau explains. An AI agent is an application of a sub-category of artificial intelligence technology known as 'agentic AI,' which refers to AI systems that are autonomous. Like other AI systems, agentic AI collects and processes data to perform a function. Current generative AI programs — the likes of ChatGPT and Midjourney — create new content ranging from text to images and strings of software code using predictive modelling. Agentic AI's key difference lies in its agency (hence its name): it can manage complex tasks and make decisions on its own, based on pre-set user goals. These are tasks that involve the ability to reason, solve problems and be adaptable in response to changing situations. Gary Filan, a partner and head of AI at KPMG Canada, said the definition of AI Agent is rapidly evolving, but that a common way to think of it is as a 'virtual assistant or coworker.' AI agents can be deployed across a wide spectrum of industries and job functions. Some early successes have come in the fields of customer service, human resources, market analysis, and fraud detection and prevention, to name a few. 'Financial services firms are the leading group in that list,' Filan said. These businesses have used AI agents, for example, to streamline insurance claims processing, generate risk assessments, to help answer customer queries, among more, according to KPMG Canada. For example, a run-of-the-mill AI assistant could help a bank send fraud alerts to its customers. But an AI agent could take it one step further: it can oversee real-time transactions, flag suspicious activity and work with the bank's fraud detection system to prevent malicious activity. Manufacturing firms have leveraged AI agents to monitor equipment performance, predict failures, and dispatch maintenance teams before downtime can occur, while retailers have used them to predict demand trends, adjust stock levels, and fine-tune pricing, said Shannon Katschilo, the Canada country manager for Snowflake Inc., an AI and data cloud platform. Rote job functions, like those in the areas of customer support, analytics, engineering and field operations, are likely to be among the most affected, Katschilo said. But both Katschilo and Filan argue that AI agents won't necessarily replace jobs or workers. 'It's the nature of the work (that) will change,' Filan said. 'Workers may switch from a rote processing type of role to one that involves more judgment, monitoring, and management — and ability to work with these AI systems.' Most Canadian organizations have now heard of agentic AI: almost three-quarters said they were 'very familiar' with the concept, according to an April 2025 KPMG Canada survey of 252 business leaders. Still, uptake remains limited in Canada even while the majority of participants — 88 per cent — said that adopting agentic AI will help their organization become more competitive. Only 27 per cent of respondents in the same survey said that their organizations have adopted or deployed agentic AI and have active use cases in their organization, while 57 per cent plan to invest in, or adopt, agentic AI in the next six months. A second quarter 2025 Statistics Canada report on AI use by businesses in Canada found that only 12 per cent of them reported using AI to produce goods or deliver services, though that figure increased from six per cent during the same time last year. 'Canadian firms are on the laggard side with regards to adoption of agentic frameworks. The primary reason is Canadian corporations' aversion to risk,' Filan said. But Canada is now experiencing a shift with the Carney government's focus on so-called 'light and tight' AI and technology regulation, he said. At their core, AI agents are built on large language models (LLMs) that sometimes 'hallucinate' — meaning that they can generate outputs that range from nonsensical to simply false. The autonomy of AI agents, alongside the growing sophistication of the technology, magnifies its risk factors. Agentic AI systems that operate independent of human oversight could carry out unintended and potentially harmful actions, from leaking confidential data, to impersonating people or manipulating files. The risk also depends on how, and where, it is applied. Agentic AI applications for 'healthcare or human resources — to decide who gets a raise or who gets laid off, for example — are much more critical than agentic AI for a food delivery app,' said Mélissa M'Raidi-Kechichian, research and advocacy fellow at the Center for AI and Digital Policy, a Washington-based non-profit focused on AI best practices. 'What remains across contexts though, is the accountability component: without human oversight, who will be held accountable when an AI system inevitably fails, does harm, or does not perform the way it was intended to?' Some in the industry are already working toward establishing guardrails to advance the development of safe and ethical AI. Canadian-French computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, considered one of the 'godfathers of AI,' recently launched a Montreal-based non-profit called LawZero focused on AI systems that will filter out certain traits like dishonesty. He aims to create a tool to de-risk AI agents and keep them in line. 'I'm deeply concerned by the behaviours that unrestrained agentic AI systems are already beginning to exhibit — especially tendencies toward self-preservation and deception,' Bengio wrote in a June 2025 blog post. Agentic AI technology is nascent, but developing rapidly, Filan said. 'I'm not even thinking about what it would look like 10 years from now. Most of the conversations occurring now are between a two-to-five-year period,' he said. A growing number of startups are now developing AI agents customized for different professional and personal needs. Partners at Silicon Valley's fabled startup accelerator Y Combinator LLC, recently said that they have been bombarded with a wide range of AI agent proposals in fields ranging from marketing to recruitment and debt collection. Silicon Valley leaders have warned that job displacement is coming rapidly. Anthropic PBC chief executive Dario Amodei told Axios in May 2025 that he thought AI could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs and push unemployment to 10 to 20 per cent in the next one to five years. Others say agentic AI technology has a ways to go. Competition Bureau to probe whether Amazon's rules are unfair to sellers and consumers Canadian AI darling Cohere to open Montreal office in rapid scale-up A May 2025 Carnegie Mellon paper showed that Google LLC's Gemini 2.5 Pro, the top-performing AI agent, was unsuccessful 70 per cent of the time in completing real-world office tasks. Other rival agents created by tech giants like OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc. had failure rates of over 90 per cent. 'Right now, we're seeing early glimpses: AI agents can already analyze data, predict trends, and automate workflows to some extent. But building AI agents that can autonomously handle complex decision-making will take more than just better algorithms. We'll need big leaps in contextual reasoning and testing for edge cases,' according to a March 2025 International Business Machines Corp. report titled AI Agents in 2025: Expectations vs. Reality. • Email: ylau@
Irish Independent
26-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Sligo man taking top ISME role will focus on minimum wage reform and town centre regeneration
A native of Sligo town, Finbarr operates the award-winning family-owned Centra store in Castle Street and has served as ISME Vice-Chair since 2023. He has held senior roles across the medical device, pharmaceutical, and construction sectors before moving into retail. Mr Filan has played a leading role in the revitalisation of Sligo town centre and the creation of the Sligo Business Improvement District (BID), which he chairs. He is also a member of the Government Advisory Group for the Town Centre First Policy, the National Retail Forum and steering group member of the Irish Town and City Development Association. He said: 'I'm honoured to take on the role of ISME chair at a time when the SME sector is facing both significant challenges and real opportunities. As someone based in the regions, I am particularly focused on ensuring that the voice of SMEs, the backbone of the Irish economy, continues to be heard.' Neil McDonnell, CEO of ISME, said: 'Finbarr brings exceptional experience and a deep understanding of both SME business realities and the broader policy environment. He is a passionate advocate for town centre regeneration and for ensuring our regional economies thrive. We are delighted to have him lead the Association at this important time.' Mr Filan will be focused on securing formal representation for SMEs on the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF). He argues for reform of how the National Minimum Wage is calculated, ensuring it reflects real cost-of-living solutions rather than driving what he says is unsustainable wage inflation. He also champions town centre regeneration through enhanced supports for repurposing derelict buildings and advocates VAT rule changes to support earlier SME entry into export markets. On legal and insurance reform, Finbarr is calling for a statutory defence against transient retail defamation and implementation of key recommendations from the Kelly Report to help reduce public liability insurance costs and protect SME viability. Finbarr holds a BTech in Manufacturing Technology, ACCA Dip in Accounting and Finance and Post Grad Diplomas in European Studies and Management. He takes over the role from outgoing Chair Marc O'Dwyer.
RTÉ News
26-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
ISME elects Sligo's Filan as its new chair
The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has elected Sligo businessman Finbarr Filan as its new Chair at its AGM in Dublin. Mr Filan will serve in the role for two years and will lead ISME's National Council and Board of Directors. A native of Sligo town, Finbarr operates has served as ISME Vice-Chair since 2023 and has held senior roles across the medical device, pharmaceutical and construction sectors before moving into retail. ISME Council member Elaine Dunne, Secretary of the Federation of Early Childhood Providers, has been elected Vice-Chair. "I'm honoured to take on the role of ISME Chair at a time when the SME sector is facing both significant challenges and real opportunities. As someone based in the regions, I am particularly focused on ensuring that the voice of SMEs, the backbone of the Irish economy, continues to be heard," Finbarr Filan said. Neil McDonnell, the CEO of ISME, said that Mr Filan brings exceptional experience and a deep understanding of both SME business realities and the broader policy environment. "He is a passionate advocate for town centre regeneration and for ensuring our regional economies thrive. We are delighted to have him lead the association at this important time," he added. As ISME Chair, Finbarr Filan is focused on securing formal representation for SMEs on the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF). He wants reform of how the National Minimum Wage is calculated to ensure it reflects real cost-of-living solutions rather than driving unsustainable wage inflation. He also champions town centre regeneration through enhanced supports for repurposing derelict buildings and advocates VAT rule changes to support earlier SME entry into export markets. On legal and insurance reform, the new ISME chair is calling for a statutory defence against transient retail defamation and implementation of key recommendations from the Kelly Report to help reduce public liability insurance costs and protect SME viability.
Irish Independent
26-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Sligo businessman is new chair of ISME and will seek reform of how the National Minimum Wage is calculated
A native of Sligo town, Finbarr operates the award-winning family-owned Centra store in Castle Street, Sligo and has served as ISME Vice-Chair since 2023. He has held senior roles across the medical device, pharmaceutical, and construction sectors before moving into retail. Filan has played a leading role in the revitalisation of Sligo town centre and the creation of the Sligo Business Improvement District (BID), which he chairs. He is also a member of the Government Advisory Group for the Town Centre First Policy, the National Retail Forum and steering group member of the Irish Town and City Development Association. He said: 'I'm honoured to take on the role of ISME Chair at a time when the SME sector is facing both significant challenges and real opportunities. As someone based in the regions, I am particularly focused on ensuring that the voice of SMEs, the backbone of the Irish economy, continues to be heard.' Neil McDonnell, CEO of ISME, said: 'Finbarr brings exceptional experience and a deep understanding of both SME business realities and the broader policy environment. He is a passionate advocate for town centre regeneration and for ensuring our regional economies thrive. We are delighted to have him lead the Association at this important time.' Filan will be focused on securing formal representation for SMEs on the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF). He argues for reform of how the National Minimum Wage is calculated, ensuring it reflects real cost-of-living solutions rather than driving what he says is unsustainable wage inflation. He also champions town centre regeneration through enhanced supports for repurposing derelict buildings and advocates VAT rule changes to support earlier SME entry into export markets. On legal and insurance reform, Finbarr is calling for a statutory defence against transient retail defamation and implementation of key recommendations from the Kelly Report to help reduce public liability insurance costs and protect SME viability. Finbarr holds a BTech in Manufacturing Technology, ACCA Dip in Accounting and Finance and Post Grad Diplomas in European Studies and Management. He takes over the role from outgoing Chair Marc O'Dwyer.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Millennial and Gen Z credit scores are the latest sign of the ‘vibecession.' Their credit scores will keep going up, Open Lending, TransUnion report shows
Credit scores have long been viewed by critics as arbitrary—mostly because there are so many factors that affect them—and some people even view them as discriminatory. Yet they're a necessary evil to get what Americans want most: homes, cars, and lower insurance rates. It can take years to build a robust credit file needed for what's considered a 'good' score (above 700), which many young consumers don't have. But a report by Open Lending and TransUnion, one of the major credit reporting agencies, shows millennials and Gen Zers are 'poised' to move up credit tiers. That may be hard for these younger generations to believe, however, because they just don't feel as good about the economy and their finances, a phenomenon that's been dubbed the 'vibecession.' It's no wonder millennials and Gen Zers don't feel great about their credit scores. After all, many lenders are 'hesitant to extend loans' to borrowers with 'thinner credit files,' said Kevin Filan, senior vice president of marketing at Open Lending. These are consumers with low credit scores or who just haven't had years of credit to prove they'll pay their loan back. However, millennials and Gen Zers are actually a 'strategic consumer segment [that] shows immense potential for upward credit mobility compared to their older counterparts,' Filan said in a statement. 'The financial institutions that intelligently address these 'emerging prime' borrowers through comprehensive data analysis and decisioning can generate higher-yielding loan opportunities and long-term customer loyalty.' In 2024, the average credit score in the U.S. was 715, according to a January report by Experian, one of the major consumer credit reporting companies. That score is considered to be right at the top of the 'good' credit band, just a few points shy of an 'excellent' credit score. Millennials and Gen Zers, however, average lower credit scores. Millennials average a credit score of 690, and Gen Zers come in at 680. For reference, the qualifying credit score for most conventional home loans is 620, according to Rocket Mortgage. There are five main factors that affect your credit score, Kendall Meade, a senior financial planner with personal finance company and online bank SoFi, told Fortune. This includes payment history, credit utilization, credit history length, credit inquiries, and types of credit. Interestingly enough, the Open Lending and TransUnion report also shows millennials and Gen Zers are actually poised to improve their credit scores more quickly than Gen X or other older generations. Using data from more than 4 million U.S. consumers, they found that 30% of millennial and Gen Z thin-file consumers moved up credit tiers within two years, while just 22% of older generations did. That largely has to do with credit length and payment history. That's because younger generations are starting from scratch, Joseph Camberato, CEO and founder of business lending firm National Business Capital, told Fortune. They start out with a blank slate and comparatively not much debt. 'When they handle their first credit card or auto loan responsibly by paying on time, their credit score shoots up quickly. This good track record makes it easier for them to get loans in the future,' Camberato said. 'On the other hand, older generations like Gen X and baby boomers might have piled up more debt over the years, which takes longer to deal with on their credit reports. Plus, as they slow down on spending, they're not as focused on boosting their credit." But just because someone is a member of a younger generation doesn't automatically mean their credit score will improve. They still have to pay off their credit cards in full each month—and charge only what they can afford, Meade warned. 'While this trajectory is good news for younger consumers, it is very important that they stay on top of their debts,' she said. A version of this story originally published on on March 25, 2024. More on credit scores: There's a special type of credit card can help you pay off debt and rebuild your credit score Americans finally got a rule protecting their credit scores from unexpected medical debt. Now Trump is attacking the agency behind it From special rewards to travel perks, here are the best credit card offers of March 2025 This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
