Written by </strong>Bill Borden, CVP, Worldwide Financial Services, Microsoft</p> Like never before, our world is changing. We are facing some of the biggest challenges of our time – poverty, food and water security, ongoing wars and conflicts, social inequality, climate change, and of course now with the COVID-19 pandemic. </p> The good news is that today’s global focus on tech intensity and the use of advanced technologies have enormous potential to help solve these critical issues. </p> Data-driven innovations are being used to improve agricultural yields sustainability, enable precision conservation, and improve disaster response for those affected by humanitarian emergencies. And we’ve all recently witnessed the power of data, AI and cloud technologies in action to mobilise our business communities and help our first responders and researchers in the fight against COVID-19. </p> Issues and events like these also remind us just how interconnected we all are in the world and the need to work together as a global community. From where we sit in financial services, how can we further accelerate the use of these technologies to help empower us to do our part to create a better world? </p> Equity and Inclusion</strong></p> Technologies like AI and advanced analytics, when used responsibly and in the right way, can have enormous impact in servicing our diverse population. They can open up a world of possibilities to create more intelligent experiences for the one-billion people living with disabilities globally. Banks can also employ multi-lingual cognitive tools that localise in real time to personalise product or service offerings. Tech innovations can also help level the playing field by expanding access to financial services, providing fairer lending decisions, and supporting community development banks and social equity efforts.</p> Poverty and Stability</strong></p> Technology innovations are giving us many new opportunities to partner with nonprofits to build data driven, digital financial tools that can empower vulnerable communities and women to create financial stability. AI and machine learning can also help us play a role in tackling extreme poverty by being able to better predict when and where future famines will occur—allowing organisations to respond earlier and more effectively, and make financing more predictable and strategic, to potentially save more lives.</p> Environment</strong></p> In many ways, the pandemic has been an environmental wake-up call. Socially responsible investing, aligned to environmental, social and governance (ESG) assets, is on the rise. Advanced technologies will be able to help provide real-time, transparent data that can be used to evaluate opportunities and investments from an ESG perspective. They can help corporate banks recalibrate loan portfolios to differentiate green assets from brown. And they can help retail banks create new tools for consumers to manage their own carbon footprint and to support societal impact. </p> Enabling meaningful innovation</strong></p> At Sibos 2020, I’ll be discussing these opportunities for impact and sharing best practices for enabling meaningful innovation and creating more inclusive and responsible banking experiences for all. This includes putting responsible AI into practice, using inclusive design methodology, and cultivating a diverse technology team. I hope you can join me, along with thought leaders from BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, in the Sibos Spotlight session: “Better Banking, Better Lives”</a>. </p> You can also hear more from BNY Mellon and Microsoft in this View from the Top session</a>. BNY Mellon CEO Todd Gibbons sits down with Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella to discuss how technology is poised to reshape the financial services industry in the coming years, and look at how to approach transformation to achieve sustainable results. </p> Additional resources</strong></p> To access additional resources and learn how banks are digitally transforming using technology innovations and solutions from Microsoft and our financial services industry partners, visit our Microsoft at Sibos microsite</a>.</p>