Supporting the gig economy and ethical AI – two massive components you can’t afford to ignore.
Detailed Summary:
In this episode of the Finovate podcast, host interviews Tamara Laine, founder of MPWR, who shares her unique journey from professional ballerina and choreographer to documentary filmmaker, investigative journalist, and finally tech entrepreneur. Laine discusses how her extensive experience as a gig worker—spanning over half her career—revealed significant financial barriers despite earning good income. Even while making six figures at times, she couldn’t obtain credit cards or loans because traditional financial systems aren’t designed for workers without W-2 income, highlighting a critical gap affecting over half the U.S. workforce.
The conversation goes on to explore how the financial industry needs to innovate for gig workers by understanding their unique cash flow patterns and developing alternative credit assessment methods beyond traditional FICO scores. Laine emphasizes that while gig workers may have inconsistent monthly income, their annual patterns are often stable and predictable, suggesting that financial products could be redesigned to accommodate these differences. The discussion highlights how younger generations are increasingly credit-thin as they move away from traditional employment and credit products, creating an urgent need for financial inclusion.
The podcast then shifts to ethical AI, drawing from Laine’s Emmy-winning investigative reporting on activist investors—notably a group of nuns—who pushed major corporations to implement ethical AI frameworks. She describes how this experience informed her approach to developing AI tools at MPWR, emphasizing the importance of preventing bias in financial technology. The conversation concludes with a discussion about responsibility for ethical AI development, with Laine advocating for diverse teams and multiple perspectives rather than relying solely on regulation, noting that we’re in the “wild west” of AI development where today’s decisions may impact financial systems for decades.
More info:
MPWR: http://www.MPWR.money ; https://www.linkedin.com/company/mpwrai/
Tamara Laine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaralaine/
Greg Palmer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbpalmer/
Finovate: https://www.finovate.com; https://www.linkedin.com/company/finovate-conference-series/
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