Australia’s CommBank partners business school to research artificial intelligence
Australia’s CommBank partners business school to research artificial intelligence
Publish Date: 2026-02-06 08:12:00
Source Domain: www.computerweekly.com
Commonwealth Bank is attempting to increase its understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) in the banking sector through a research partnership with a business school.
The Australian bank, which has 17 million customers, is working with Melbourne Business School to help it understand how Australian’s perceive, use and trust AI.
The organisations have created what they call the AI Attitude Barometer to “explore Australians’ understanding, adoption and sentiment towards AI within financial services”, according to the bank.
Will Mailer, chief behavioural scientist at CommBank, said the research will provide insights as AI adoption grows over time. “AI is evolving rapidly, and it’s critical that we understand how Australians feel about its use in banking,” he said.
The University of Melbourne, which the business school is part of, published a study last year of global attitudes to AI, which found 80% of Australians will trust AI when their ethical and responsible practices are in place.
Nicole Gillespie, a professor at the university, said: “Our study of over 48,000 people across 47 countries revealed that Australians are optimistic about AI’s benefits, while also mindful of the risks. This is why four in five Australians say they would trust the use of AI more when practices are in place to ensure its responsible and ethical use.”
Mailer said early insights show the proportion of participants that felt AI introduced more risk than benefits was lower in banking than in media, arts and entertainment, healthcare and education. “The AI Attitudes Barometer will help us stay closely connected to our customers’ lived experiences and support them as adoption grows,” he added.
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