Commonwealth Bank of Australia has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to establish an in-house ‘AI Factory’ aimed at speeding up the adoption of Generative AI technologies.
The AI Factory is designed to facilitate the safe testing and development of AI solutions by providing the computational resources necessary for swiftly fine-tuning and training large language models (LLMs). Leveraging AWS’s capabilities, including Amazon SageMaker, a managed machine learning service, and Amazon EC2 P5 Instances intended for deep learning and high-performance computing, the initiative seeks to enhance the bank’s AI capabilities.
Dr. Andrew McMullan, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at CommBank, noted, “By harnessing AWS’s cloud infrastructure and advanced AI functionalities, the AI Factory will dramatically reduce our development time for AI-driven projects—by approximately fourfold compared to our existing pace. This initiative will empower our engineers and AI scientists to seamlessly integrate AI and Generative AI capabilities into their daily work, fostering greater creativity and efficiency. With this enhanced computational power, we are positioned to deliver more personalized experiences to our customers, streamline our operations across all channels, and responsibly advance the use of Generative AI within the organization.”
CommBank has a history of employing AI technology to enhance customer protection against fraud and scams, as well as to identify technology-facilitated abuse. In October, the bank disclosed its exploration of Generative AI to create ‘synthetic customers,’ designed to simulate human behavior for testing responses to new products and services. Additionally, CommBank has initiated an AI microlearning series for all employees, focusing on topics including Generative AI, deep learning, and responsible AI practices.
Dr. McMullan further emphasized, “For several years, AI has been a strategic priority for CommBank. Recent advancements in Generative AI hold the potential to significantly improve customer experiences and streamline essential banking processes. Given the rapid technological evolution, it is crucial that we have the appropriate infrastructure to support our aim of shaping the future of banking for our customers. The AI Factory will ensure we are well-equipped to leverage this emerging technology effectively.”
For those interested in the evolving challenges and opportunities that artificial intelligence brings to the banking sector, Finextra will host its inaugural NextGenAI conference on November 26, 2024. Register your interest to stay informed.