One of the first initiatives will involve a bank and a new member organization to tackle credit scoring for unsecured lending.

A consortium led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to develop a framework for driving the responsible adoption of AI in the country’s financial services industry is growing in momentum.

Tasked with the FEAT (Fairness, Ethics, Accountability, Transparency) of mandating proper deployment of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA) technologies within financial institutions, the Veritas Consortium has since its formation in 2019 been adding new members to its operations.

On 28 May, global AI specialist firm Element AI was roped in to include a range of research and development activities in support of this consortium’s mandate. One of the first initiatives being undertaken is in collaboration with United Overseas Bank (UOB), one of the lead consortium members.

Together the parties will develop a set of quantifiable metrics for financial institutions to assess the extent to which data and the algorithms or models used to evaluate credit scoring for unsecured lending meet the principles of Fairness.

The consortium’s goal is to publish a research report on the project and to open-source the code for the metrics for AI practitioners to review and to eventually use within their own organizations. The report is expected to be published in the second half of 2020.

Johnson Poh, Head of Group Enterprise AI and Data Science, Data Management Office, UOB, said: “As a founding member of the Veritas initiative and through our collaboration with Element AI, we aim to develop a set of metrics which could be used as an industry benchmark that upholds the Fairness principle in the area of credit scoring for unsecured lending.”

The FEAT principles and the Veritas initiative are part of Singapore’s National AI Strategy, aimed at building a vibrant and responsible environment for AI adoption within the financial sector. Said Jean-François (JF) Gagné, CEO and Founder of Element AI: “The MAS approach to nurturing innovation and partnering with industry, whilst setting the standards and principles required for the responsible deployment of technology, is aspirational. Element AI is honoured to act as an advisor to the MAS and as a partner to UOB on this important initiative of global significance.”