The French AI specialists Atos and DreamQuark, who operate within the finance and insurance sectors respectively, have recently announced their commitment to developing socially responsible investment (SRI) through the utilisation of artificial intelligence.
The two companies have recently announced the launch of the Sustainable Investment Brain, the first digital platform for banks and insurers that is both dedicated to SRI, and compliant with the principles of ethical artificial intelligence as set out in the recently proposed European regulation.
Supported by a growing interest in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issues, global sustainable fund inflows were up 88% in the fourth quarter of 2020 to more than $152 billion. Their success has since continued to build, supported by the growing demand for meaningful investments during the health crisis.
The Sustainable Investment Brain accelerates this trend by combining DreamQuark’s algorithmic know-how with Atos’ expertise in data management and decarbonisation. Based on artificial intelligence and deep learning, the solution leverages financial and extra-financial data, including accurate and standardised ESG data provided by Atos and EcoAct, an Atos Group company that specialises in climate transition.
Once integrated and analysed, this data can be used to identify the investors most interested in responsible investment and to recommend the most suitable assets and investment products, taking into account their individual profile and objectives.
The platform ensures end-to-end data processing, from preparation to visualisation. The attention paid to data integrity, combined with advanced management tools, allows the design, large-scale deployment, and management of ethical machine learning models, respecting the European principles of autonomy, interpretability, explicability, transparency, responsibility and robustness. Additionally, the models can be manually modified to take into account company policies and regulatory obligations, like the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), for example.
SRI is thus becoming a real growth driver for clients, at a time when more and more private players in the finance sector are looking for a reason to exist.
“Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads between major technological innovations and the need to move towards decarbonisation,” explained Nicolas Méric, the Founder and CEO of DreamQuark. “We are proud to announce that these two areas are not mutually exclusive. The Sustainable Investment Brain solution from Atos and DreamQuark has been developed with the ambition to put technology at the service of the environment while remaining efficient and financially relevant. We thank Atos for its trust. DreamQuark has always wanted to democratise ethical Artificial Intelligence to the largest number of people, and we are sure that this is possible with Atos.”
“Digital, by enabling the automation of best practices, is the key to making responsible finance the new standard in the market. By combining data management, AI, and ethics, the Sustainable Investment Brain solution from Atos and DreamQuark will enable our clients to maximise their returns, while respecting their environmental and social commitments, and taking into account regulatory changes. It is a tool for both decarbonisation and for competitiveness,” added Isabelle Warnier, Head of Atos Scaler, Atos. “One
year after the launch of our Atos Scaler acceleration programme, this offer is also the proof of the effectiveness of our collaborative approach with the start-up ecosystem and we are delighted to work with DreamQuark on this project”.
