It’s an algorithmic mystery box that inspires fear, awe and derision in equal measure. The simulacrums it creates are programmed to pass off retained information as knowledge, applying unwarranted certainty to assumptions born of an easily bypassed ethical code. Its output threatens to determine whether huge numbers of people will ever get a job. And yet, the CFA Institute abides.
OpenAI’s release of GPT-4 has caused another angst attack about what artificial intelligence will do to the job market. Fears around AI disruption are particularly acute in finance, where the robotic processing of data probably describes most of the jobs much of the time.
Where does that leave the CFA Institute? Its chartered financial analyst qualifications offer an insurance policy to employers that staff will behave, and that their legal and marketing bumf will be produced to code. But CFA accreditation is only available to humans, who pay $1,200 per exam (plus a $350 enrolment fee), mostly to be told to re-sit.