Scratching the surface of responsible AI in financial services: a qualitative study on non-technical challenges and the role of corporate digital responsibility

Skouloudis, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3363-6692 and Venkatraman, A. (2025) Scratching the surface of responsible AI in financial services: a qualitative study on non-technical challenges and the role of corporate digital responsibility. AI, 6 (8). 169. ISSN 2673-2688 doi: 10.3390/ai6080169

Abstract/Summary

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI are transformative yet double-edged technologies with evolving risks. While research emphasises trustworthy, fair, and responsible AI by focusing on its “what” and “why,” it overlooks practical “how.” To bridge this gap in financial services, an industry at the forefront of AI adoption, this study employs a qualitative approach grounded in existing Responsible AI and Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) frameworks. Through thematic analysis of 15 semi-structured interviews conducted with professionals working in finance, we illuminate nine non-technical barriers that practitioners face, such as sustainability challenges, trade-off balancing, stakeholder management, and human interaction, noting that GenAI concerns now eclipse general AI issues. CDR practitioners adopt a more human-centric stance, emphasising consensus-building and “no margin for error.” Our findings offer actionable guidance for more responsible AI strategies and enrich academic debates on Responsible AI and AI-CDR symbiosis.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/123858
Identification Number/DOI	10.3390/ai6080169
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Henley Business School
Publisher	MDPI AG
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