In today's rapidly evolving landscape of technology and finance, Agentic AI is heralding a new era of opportunity and challenge for financial services (FS). It’s not just a shift in how tasks are automated; it's a seismic transformation that introduces dynamic, self-updating systems capable of independent decision-making. As a serial entrepreneur with a deep understanding of technology convergence, I want to share insights on what I’m calling the “Drift Paradox”. This concept encapsulates the inevitability of AI systems deviating from human alignment while showcasing the need for financial institutions to adopt continuous realignment to stay competitive.
The Alex-and-Bennett Dilemma in FS
Agentic AI differs from previous AI systems in profound ways. Unlike static predictive algorithms, it observes, reasons, and acts independently in real-time. Imagine two bank agents competing to process customer data: Alex operates as a fixed algorithm bound by rigid programming, while Bennett, an agentic AI, adjusts and learns dynamically. At first glance, Bennett seems superior, however, the more Bennett learns and adapts, the higher the risk of "drift," a term I use to describe the incremental deviation from the system’s intended goals.
For banks, this means walking a fine line. Static AI systems may meet compliance and alignment needs but lack the innovation to tackle evolving customer demands. Agentic AIs fuel innovation and agility but come with trade-offs: misalignment, regulatory risks, and infrastructure stress.
Embracing the Drift: Why It’s Inevitable
The financial industry can no longer treat technological drift as a glitch to be patched. Here’s why:
-
The Complexity of Human Intentions
Despite advances in neural network sophistication, AI still struggles to align perfectly with human goals. Financial preferences are nuanced, socioeconomic changes, cultural specificities, and psychological drivers evolve, and as a result, AI systems find themselves exposed to missteps. -
Dynamic Financial Systems
Markets are highly volatile ecosystems. Interest rates, customer needs, credit demands, and fraud tactics shift continuously. For Agentic AI to be effective, it must be as dynamic as these changes, an ability that ironically makes it susceptible to diverging from its original path. -
Accumulated Micro-Errors
Each decision an AI agent makes is influenced to some extent by inherently incomplete data. Over time, a series of small inaccuracies aggregate, resulting in systemic drift. In the financial context, the space for error narrows due to the high-stakes nature of decision-making, such as credit allocation or fraud detection.
Supporting Stats
According to CFO Dive’s analysis on the impact of agentic AI in finance, over 93% of financial institutions reported challenges tied to AI implementation, with 71% citing frequent reconfiguration as a resource-intensive process. While automation boosted efficiency, aligning outputs with human oversight was flagged as the top challenge.
5 Steps to Navigate the Drift and Ensure Continuous Realignment
Financial services firms ready to thrive in an 'agentic' world need a vision that integrates technological advancement with governance and human oversight.
1. Implement Transparent Governance Models
Financial institutions must prioritize explainable AI. This means building models that articulate the "why" behind every decision and ensure these explanations are user-readable. Platforms like Moody’s explains financial AI transformation have outlined governance essentials for reduced misalignment.
2. Adopt Runtime Mandates
Agentic AIs require clear boundaries. This involves giving systems real-time mandates that are revocable and constantly updated to match regulatory changes, new business strategies, or customer trends.
3. Emphasize Continuous Monitoring
As seen in McKinsey's assessment of Agentic AI disruption in retail banking, monitoring behaviors across training datasets, operational environments, and end-user interactions provides a safety net to detect behavioral drifts early.
4. Enhance Workforce Engagement
Agentic AI is not here to replace the workforce but to augment its capabilities. Financial firms need to retrain employees, teaching them to collaborate effectively with AI to maximize value.
5. Establish Systemic Oversight Frameworks
Think beyond the software. A multi-system oversight mechanism can ensure trust and consistency, similar to how blockchain networks validate decentralized ledgers. Trust rails, as emphasized by experts like Shikko Nijland in a Finextra report, could set the foundation for systemic coherence in the age of agentic AI.
Overcoming Mistakes: Pitfalls to Avoid
-
Assuming AI is Plug-and-Play
No system is static. Expect to continuously invest in fine-tuning models to ensure alignment and compliance. -
Neglecting Collaboration
Drift challenges are multidisciplinary, addressing them requires inputs from AI engineers, business stakeholders, and regulators alike. -
Focusing Exclusively on Control
Prevention strategies like locked algorithms and static rules hinder scalability. The goal should be managing drift, not stifling adaptation. -
Overlooking Community-Level Impacts
Agentic AI has industry-wide implications. As a European entrepreneur, I have seen how interconnected financial systems require cross-border collaboration for effective oversight.
Conclusion: A Continuous Evolution
In embracing Agentic AI, financial services have a choice: adapt or be left behind. However, adapting requires a clear understanding that drift cannot be “solved” but should instead be continuously managed. Drift governance should become the backbone of financial institutions, enabling creativity, maintaining alignment, and mitigating risks.
Entrepreneurs and startup founders must see this transformation as more than just a corporate dilemma. This shift creates new opportunities, from developing solutions for realtime AI monitoring to advancing interoperability frameworks that underpin this complex AI-driven world.
The Drift Paradox will redefine the future of work and technology, and those bold enough to prepare for continuous realignment will emerge as the industry leaders of tomorrow.
FAQ
1. What is Agentic AI and how does it differ from traditional AI?
Agentic AI moves beyond static algorithms, enabling systems to make autonomous decisions, learn, and adapt in real-time without constant human intervention. This marks a shift from predictive models to dynamic, self-updating agents. Learn more about Agentic AI in financial services
2. What is the Drift Paradox in the context of Agentic AI?
The Drift Paradox refers to the inevitable misalignment of Agentic AI systems from their intended goals over time as they adapt and learn from incomplete data. This drift is an inherent trade-off for enabling adaptability. Explore the Drift Paradox
3. Why is the Drift Paradox significant for financial services?
In financial services, small deviations (drift) can lead to significant risks like regulatory non-compliance, financial losses, or breaches of customer trust due to the high-stakes nature of decisions like credit allocation or fraud detection. Find out why drift matters in finance
4. How can financial institutions manage drift in Agentic AI systems?
Institutions can manage drift through transparent governance, real-time mandates, continuous monitoring, workforce training to complement AI, and establishing oversight frameworks. Read about drift governance
5. What are some risks associated with Agentic AI in financial services?
Agentic AI introduces risks such as goal misalignment, amplified errors due to cascading decision-making, regulatory challenges, and loss of trust when systems fail. Learn more about Agentic AI risks
6. Is drift in Agentic AI considered a flaw or a feature?
Drift is considered an inherent trade-off for adaptability and innovation in Agentic AI, rather than a flaw. Preventing drift entirely would stifle the system's utility. Understand the inevitability of drift
7. How are financial institutions preparing for the Agentic AI era?
Institutions are adopting measures such as explainable AI frameworks, retraining employees for AI collaboration, implementing systemic oversight, and investing in trust infrastructures. Explore strategies for Agentic AI
8. What role does human oversight play in mitigating AI drift?
Human oversight ensures that AI outputs align with ethical standards, regulations, and organizational values. It acts as a safeguard against systemic drift. Learn about the role of oversight
9. What are runtime mandates, and why are they critical for Agentic AI?
Runtime mandates are machine-readable, revocable constraints placed on agentic systems to ensure compliance with regulatory, business, and customer expectations. They are critical in dynamically aligning AI decisions with organizational goals.
10. Why is continuous realignment crucial in using Agentic AI?
Continuous realignment is necessary to manage the evolving divergence of AI systems from their original goals, maintaining compliance, efficiency, and trust over time. Discover why continuous realignment is key
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
