Experts Warn AI Financial Advice Can Mislead Users, Expose Data and Reinforce 3 Key Risks
Updated
Updated · ABC News · May 26
Experts Warn AI Financial Advice Can Mislead Users, Expose Data and Reinforce 3 Key Risks
7 articles · Updated · ABC News · May 26
Finance and AI experts say chatbots should not be relied on alone for money decisions, especially investing, because their answers can sound convincing while being wrong.
MoneySmart and academics cited three main risks—inaccuracy, bias and privacy—saying large language models can hallucinate facts, reflect gender or racial skew in training data, and potentially use uploaded information to train models.
Bank statements, payslips and tax returns are among the documents experts say users should avoid uploading, while free versions of AI tools may be a poor choice for something as important as personal finance.
Lower-risk uses include explaining financial concepts, suggesting research questions and helping draft a household budget, provided users can check the output and compare it with other sources or tools.
MoneySmart, the ATO and the National Debt Helpline were highlighted as safer places for regulated or independent guidance, underscoring that AI is better used as a learning aid than a financial adviser.
When AI financial advice leads to ruin, who pays the price if the chatbot has no accountability?
Millions now use AI for financial help. Is it democratizing wealth or paving a new road to financial ruin?