Immersive technologies like virtual and augmented reality have never quite hit the same euphoric highs (and lows) as crypto or AI, but that doesn’t mean there’s no place for them, especially in banking. Blair MacIntyre, a JPMorgan MD and global head of immersive technology, spoke recently on MIT’s Business Lab podcast about the issues the sector faces and where the most promising developments have been.
The most exciting use case for MacIntyre at the moment is “immersive training applications.” He says that placing a new hire, presumably a graduate or intern, “into a situation rather than watch a video or flick through a presentation” allows them to dynamically engage with training and allows for real-time feedback.
JPMorgan isn’t the only bank testing the tech on training younger demographics. Citi also runs a virtual reality internship experience with practical task modules like calculating relevant financial metrics and summarizing key findings in an email. If VR is being used in the pre-hiring and post-hiring process already, could we also expect job interviews to use the tech in future too?
MacIntyre has big plans, which extend beyond training. He wants to integrate AR and VR to into employees’ daily lives. In particular, he thinks AR and VR could be used for meetings. However, he says widespread adoption of the technology will only happen when it’s seamlessly integrated into workflows, and that this will require work on data migration. “If it takes three or four minutes to move your work into a VR experience, nobody is going to do it,” MacIntyre says. “It’s too problematic.”
Longer term, however, MacIntyre thinks AR and VR, combined with AI, could facilitate, “serendipitous access to information.” An in-person meeting leveraging augmented reality, for example, could put your notes in the corner of your eye and let you continue to interact with clients. This would be much easier than surreptitiously checking notes on your phone. Equally, he says that AI could be used for taking notes in AR meetings.
MacIntyre, who was a Georgia Tech professor for over two decades, seems to be enjoying his new life at JPMorgan. He says the bank is developing “much more sophisticated, much more powerful” solutions. The bank’s immersive technology team rotates in analysts from elsewhere in the business and invites other teams to submit ideas to research.
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