Audit in an Age of Intelligent Machines
Already in use at many organizations, artificial intelligence is poised to transform the way business operates
While monitoring transactions, an alert bank data analyst noticed unusual payments from a computer manufacturer to a casino. Because casinos are heavily computerized, one would expect the payments to go to the computer company. The analyst alerted an investigative agent, who rapidly scoured websites, proprietary data stores, and dark web sources to find detailed information about the two parties. The data revealed that the computer manufacturer was facing a criminal indictment and a civil law suit. Meanwhile, the casino had lost its gambling license due to money laundering and had set up shop in another country. Further investigation revealed the computer manufacturer was using the casino to launder money before the company’s legal issues drove it out of business.
The bank’s data analyst was a machine learning algorithm. The investigative agent was an artificial intelligence (AI) agent.
AI is all around. It’s monitoring financial transactions. It’s diagnosing illnesses, often more accurately than doctors. It’s carrying out stock trades, screening job applicants, recommending products and services, and telling people what to watch on TV. It’s in their phones and soon it will be driving their cars. And it’s coming to organizations, maybe sooner than people realize. Research firm International Data Corp. says worldwide spending on cognitive and AI systems will be $12 billion this year. It predicts spending will top $57 billion by 2021.
“If you think AI is not coming your way, it’s probably coming sooner than you think it is”
