Who's on the call: US bank CEO uses AI clone in quarterly earnings meet

Tech companies are racing to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) in their day-to-day operations, but in an unusual move, a US-based bank has taken an early lead. Customers Bank CEO Sam Sidhu on Friday attended the first-quarter earnings call with analysts, and half an hour into the call, he revealed he hadn't been speaking at all.

 

The CEO used his AI clone to deliver remarks at the quarterly conference. Calling it possibly the first-of-its-kind move for a public company's earnings call, he said, “The prepared remarks you heard on my behalf today were delivered by my AI clone, not read by me,” CNBC reported.

 

 

His motive behind using his AI clone? To embrace a broader shift towards AI, the bank, headquartered in Pennsylvania’s Phoenixville, signed a multiyear deal with OpenAI to automate banking operations.

 

Increasing popularity of AI clones

 

This development comes as the adoption of AI clones is becoming more widespread, and companies are still navigating how to use them. Earlier this month, a Financial Times report stated that Meta is training its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg’s, AI avatar that could soon replace him in meetings. Zuckerberg’s AI avatar is reportedly being taught his mannerisms, tone, and public statements in a bid to make employees feel more connected to the founder. Zuckerberg is also reportedly creating an AI agent, which is separate from its avatar, to help him complete tasks.

 

But creating and replacing themselves with AI clones is not limited to CEOs, entrepreneurs, actors and influencers. More and more people are turning to new-age AI startups to help them create AI clones of their loved ones whom they’ve lost. In China, ‘ghost bots’ are gaining popularity, as tech companies are letting people purchase AI replicas of deceased loved ones, for a nominal fee.

 

Meanwhile, an Indian startup, Gnani.ai, is developing AI voice models that can clone people’s voices in 12 Indian languages.

 

But as the adoption of AI clones is becoming more widespread, so are concerns around fraud and misuse. Scammers are increasingly using AI-replicated voice technology to impersonate relatives or acquaintances and steal money. In a recent case, a Madhya Pradesh-based teacher lost ₹1 lakh after a fraudster allegedly posed as her cousin using AI to mimic his voice, tone and urgency.

 

While AI clones are being seen as important tools to streamline operations and help senior executives multitask, vulnerabilities and risks remain significant and largely unresolved.