Wealth managers and family offices are concerned that companies are making false claims about the extent to which they use artificial intelligence (AI) and the positive impact it is having on their operations, research from Robocap has revealed.

It found that 37% of family offices, wealth managers, insurance asset managers, and pension funds were ‘very concerned’ about AI washing, while a further 63% were ‘quite concerned’.

Robocap noted there were several types of AI washing, which could include companies claiming to use AI when they are actually using less sophisticated algorithms.

It could also involve overstating the efficacy of their AI over existing techniques or falsely claiming that their AI solutions were fully operational.

More than a quarter (26%) of those surveyed believed that AI washing would worsen ‘slightly’ over the next three years, while 3% felt it would get ‘much worse’.

However, 64% believed the issue would become less severe of the next three years, and 7% said that it would not change.

Commenting on the findings, Robocap founder and CIO, Jonathan Cohen, said: “Just like greenwashing, AI washing is a genuine problem for investors who are looking for exposure to companies that genuinely profit from the growth and operational efficiencies AI can bring.

“We believe there is a strong misunderstanding and a misuse of the term AI, a great disparity between the technological innovation and what we actually see in terms of revenues derived from it.”

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