Mortgage brokers should embrace artificial intelligence rather than fear it will ultimately replace them, Mortgageforce managing director Kevin Duffy has told advisers.

Speaking at the Mortgageforce conference in Ibiza Duffy predicted that the rapid expansion of AI would eventually encounter a significant setback that forces major businesses to reconsider how much responsibility they are prepared to hand to autonomous technology.

He argued that increasingly capable AI will undoubtedly change mortgage advice, but believes the combination of trust, judgement and accountability involved in recommending a mortgage means the role of the human adviser will remain.

Duffy told brokers that technology should instead allow them to spend less time on administration and more time advising clients.

HUMAN JUDGEMENT

Duffy suggested the current enthusiasm surrounding AI could be tempered within the next few years by a high-profile failure involving autonomous technology.

Rather than halting its development, he believes such an event could prompt businesses and regulators to draw clearer boundaries around decisions that require human oversight.

Talking to a packed audience he said: “AI is going to become extraordinarily capable and brokers shouldn’t underestimate how much it will change our industry. But being capable of doing something isn’t the same as society being comfortable allowing a machine to take responsibility for doing it.

“At some point I suspect we will see a major failure involving autonomous technology that changes the conversation. When something goes seriously wrong, people very quickly start asking who was responsible, who exercised judgement and who should have intervened.”

ADVICE REMAINS PERSONAL

Duffy’s message to Mortgageforce advisers was that AI is more likely to change the mechanics of mortgage advice than eliminate the need for advisers themselves.

He said: “A mortgage isn’t simply about finding the cheapest product from a database. Clients come to brokers because their lives don’t always fit neatly into boxes. They want somebody to understand their circumstances, explain the compromises and ultimately stand behind the advice they are giving.

“AI will become extremely good at gathering information, analysing products and removing administration. Brokers should welcome that because it gives them more time to do the part of the job where they add the greatest value.”

TRUST AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Duffy told his ARs that they should concentrate on how AI could improve their businesses rather than viewing the technology primarily as a threat.

He said: “The brokers who should be worried aren’t the ones wondering whether AI will replace them. They’re the ones who decide not to use it.

“The winning model is going to be a very good adviser equipped with very good technology. AI can make brokers quicker, better informed and more efficient, but trust and accountability will remain human qualities.

“My message to you is simple: don’t be frightened of AI. Learn how to use it and let it make you a better adviser.”