A Note from our CEO, Scott Soderberg

Presenting a vision of what the future might look like has been an obsession for creative minds in science, literature, and popular culture for centuries.  In recent years, an endless string of movies has been produced by Hollywood depicting various forms of the apocalypse, whether in the form of a natural disaster, an alien invasion, worldwide epidemic, or just about anything else you can imagine.  My personal favorite is the classic “The Terminator”.  In the highly unlikely event you haven’t seen it, the plot centers on the premise that an artificial intelligence (AI) system named Skynet becomes “self-aware” and on its own initiates a nuclear holocaust.

To me, it’s more than a little interesting that the year from which our favorite cyborg (played by you-know-who) travels back in time to the present (which was 1984 then--also an iconic date in apocalyptic literary history) from the year 2029.  I think all of us would agree that 45 years into the future is a long time.  Now, of course, 2029 is right around the corner.  To add to the irony of all this, AI and its implications for humanity are a hot topic of discussion in technology circles and pop culture alike.  The concept of “self -aware” in The Terminator is now described (in quite serious terms) by technology minds as “singularity”, the point at which AI becomes so advanced that it “thinks for itself” versus simply executing instructions.  Some estimates predict the occurrence of singularity in the next few years.  2029, perhaps?

I’d be willing to wager that you won’t see a movie trailer any time soon that tells a story about how AI turns the world into a paradise for the entire population.  But even though there are clear and present dangers in its use by the bad guys, I think AI overall has a greater potential to improve our standard of living.  As a part of our business relationship with our banking core technology provider, several members of our executive team attend that company’s technology event held each year.  There, we learn about what is on the tech horizon and how it will help us improve the banking products and services we provide to you.  This year’s conference had hundreds of sessions, the vast majority of which were either centered on or were in some way related to current and emerging AI technologies.  It is truly exciting to see what technology can and will be doing for banks and their customers.  Just as we here at FNC Bank are currently implementing technology we first saw a few years ago at this event, I enthusiastically envision us integrating the amazing capabilities we experienced last week in the years to come.  It is possible to see into the future, and trust me, it’s very rewarding when that future arrives in a way that benefits us all.