Researcher in Focus: Dr Swati Sachan

Posted on: 3 December 2024 by Dr Swati Sachan in 2024 Posts

In this Researcher in Focus blog and podcast, meet Dr Swati Sachan, lecturer in Artificial Intelligence in Finance at the University of Liverpool Management School. Below, you can find out how she is using AI to transform the world of finance and to address the challenge of limited capital access for underserved individuals.

Listen to Dr Sachan talk about her work in more detail in our 'researcher in focus' podcast.

Swati writes:

I am an academic in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in finance. My research focuses on the development of transparent and secure AI algorithms, achieved through the integration of cryptographically secure technologies.

From a theoretical perspective, I explore the foundational elements of this integration, while practically, I apply my techniques in high-stakes decision-making domains, such as finance, insurance, and law. These industries serve vast customer bases, so they rely heavily on AI to enhance operational efficiency for critical decisions that impact wide demographics.

AI holds tremendous potential to improve human life, but its deployment is not without challenges. It has attracted significant scrutiny from the public and regulatory bodies, particularly with the recent advancements in Generative AI. My research tackles two key concerns:

• Transparency: The resolve mistrust in AI-driven decisions due to lack of transparency in complex AI operations. The general public struggles to comprehend the intricate processes behind these decisions, and opacity often leads to biased and discriminatory outcomes due to the underrepresentation of certain majority groups. My research with a Manchester-based FinTech firm demonstrates how collaboration between humans and AI can improve the quality and fairness of financial decisions [1].
  
  
• Privacy and Security: AI systems are vulnerable to targeted cyberattacks. My research addresses this by cryptographic security and blockchain technologies to safeguard these systems against cyber threats and prevent accidental data leaks. One of my studies explores the theoretical and practical applications of blockchain technology to maintain accountability in the use of generative AI [2].

Impact on Underserved Community

One of the key aspects of my impact case is the application of AI with decentralized and cryptographic technologies to address the challenge of limited capital access for underserved individuals.

Dr Swati Sachan and Prof Dale-Fickett 

This work, in collaboration with Professor Dale Fickett, founder of Open Trellis, a charitable financial institution based in Richmond, US, is making a tangible difference. Open Trellis supports small business owners in securing bank credit, especially minorities such as African Americans and Latino Americans.

We have developed an AI decision-support system that integrates data from underserved communities through a secured blockchain environment. Our project has earned prestigious recognition from the Forbes Business Council, where it has been ranked as the top emerging trend for its potential to impact small businesses [3] and its contribution to the commercialization of technology [4]. Recently, we received technical backing from Chain Crunch Labs (based in London and Boston) to conduct experiments using their high-speed nodes.

Learn more about Dr Swati Sachan on her staff page.

References

[1] Sachan, S., Almaghrabi, F., Yang, J. B., & Xu, D. L. (2024). Human-AI collaboration to mitigate decision noise in financial underwriting: A study on FinTech innovation in a lending firm. International Review of Financial Analysis, 93, 103149.

[2] Sachan, S., & Liu, X. (2024). Blockchain-based auditing of legal decisions supported by explainable AI and generative AI tools. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 129, 107666.

[3] Research with Open Trellis was ranked 1st in the "Business Trend" category by Forbes: 20 'Hot' Small Business Trends Today's Leaders Are Watching

[4] Acknowledgment of Commercialization Impact on Forbes: How Enterprise Development Can Help Heal America's Divisions