--- title: "Bank of America Obsessed With AI, Says It’s the “New Electricity”" description: "The financial industry's response to AI has been bizarre at best, with Bank of America weighing in very much on the side of the bots. " date: "2023-03-03" modified: "2023-03-03" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/bank-of-america-ai-electricity" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "finance" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # Bank of America Obsessed With AI, Says It’s the “New Electricity” ![The financial industry's response to AI has been bizarre at best, with Bank of America weighing in very much on the side of the bots. ]() *\Image: Brandon Bell via Getty / Futurism\* ## BofA AIs The financial industry's response to artificial intelligence has been [all over the place](). Now, Bank of America is weighing in very much on the side of the bots. In a note to clients viewed [by *CNBC*]() and other outlets, BofA equity strategist Haim Israel boasted that AI was one of its top trends to watch — and invest in — for the year, and used all kinds of hypey language to convince its clients. "We are at a defining moment — like the internet in the '90s — where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is moving towards mass adoption," the client note reads, "with large language models like ChatGPT finally enabling us to fully capitalize on the data revolution." Taking the comparison further, Israel added that software like OpenAI's game-changing ChatGPT will become an essential commodity. "If data is the new oil," the strategist predicted, "then AI is the new electricity." ## Hot and Cold With AI at the apparent forefront of its trend forecasting, the financial institution [highlighted multiple big tech stocks]() in a separate list of stocks to watch — but BofA's apparent pro-AI obsession does not seem to be shared by some of its competitors. Just last week, JP Morgan went so far as to [ban employees from using ChatGPT at work](), citing "compliance concerns" [per *CNN*'s reporting](). Though its stance wasn't as strict as its compatriot's, Morgan Stanley reportedly is also concerned with the downsides of AI, too. "When we talk of high-accuracy task," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note [viewed by *Insider*]() last week, "it is worth mentioning that ChatGPT sometimes hallucinates and can generate answers that are seemingly convincing, but are actually wrong." With AI making massive waves in the finance industry and everywhere else, it's not surprising that big banks are responding in different ways — though to be honest, these disparate reactions does suggest serious ambiguity in the new space. **More on ChatGPT and banks:** [*Journalist Clones His Voice and Uses It to Break Into His Own Bank Account*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()