Even if immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality haven’t experienced the same exhilarating highs and lows as artificial intelligence or cryptocurrency, they still have a place, particularly in banking. JPMorgan MD Blair MacIntyre, who oversees immersive technology globally, recently discussed the challenges facing the industry and the most promising advancements in the field on MIT’s Business Lab podcast.
Right now, MacIntyre’s most intriguing use case is “immersive training applications.” According to him, putting a new hire—likely a recent graduate or intern—”into a situation rather than watch a video or flick through a presentation” enables them to participate actively in training and receive feedback in real-time.
Not all banks are experimenting with technology to instruct younger audiences, just JPMorgan. Additionally, Citi offers a virtual reality internship program with modules that include useful tasks like figuring out essential financial data and emailing a summary of the most important discoveries. Can we anticipate VR being utilized in job interviews in the future if it’s already being used in the pre- and post-hiring processes?
MacIntyre has ambitious goals that go beyond instruction. His goal is to make AR and VR a part of every employee’s everyday life. He believes that AR and VR could be very useful for meetings. He does, however, assert that widespread acceptance of the technology won’t occur until workflows can seamlessly incorporate it, which will necessitate data migration work.
In the long run, though, MacIntyre believes that AI in conjunction with AR and VR could allow for “serendipitous access to information.” For example, using augmented reality at an in-person meeting could allow you to continue interacting with clients while keeping your notes out of sight. This would be far less complicated than sneaking a peek at your phone’s notes. He also suggests using AI to take notes during AR talks.
After more than 20 years as a professor at Georgia Tech, MacIntyre appears to be content in his new role at JPMorgan. He claims that “much more sophisticated, much more powerful” solutions are being developed by the bank. The bank’s immersive technology team allows other teams to submit ideas for research and rotates in analysts from other business units.
