Bloomberg: How London Finance Workers Teach Themselves AI

In the city that is built on staying one step ahead of the curve, a quiet revolution unfolds as financial services professionals actively integrate AI into their daily workflows.

According to a Bloomberg survey of 500 London-based finance specialists, technology adoption has quickly become a staple of modern city life. Rather than waiting for corporate mandates, these professionals are taking personal initiative to master these emerging tools on their own terms.

Data shows that 88% of professionals now utilise AI tools on a weekly or daily basis. Notably, not a single respondent reported neglecting to learn how to use these tools and none believed there are no opportunities to be gained from them.

The pressure to adapt is rising, with 85% of the workforce believing AI skills will soon outweigh traditional ones when it comes to their next promotion or career move. This shift is creating a corporate culture where keeping up with technological change is mandatory.

The demand for adaptation is so strong that 69% of those surveyed believe colleagues who resist developing these skills have no place at their firm.

Using AI to learn AI

To keep pace with the market, professionals are building their skills during both company and personal time. To achieve this, local specialists are drawing on an average of more than three different learning methods.

Using AI tools to learn AI is the most popular method, which is favoured by 53% of the workforce. This is followed closely by experimenting in their own time, which is used by 50% of professionals.

Additionally, 44% of respondents watch videos and online guides, while 42% learn directly from their colleagues. Conversely, formal employer training is the least common method, utilised by only 40% of the workforce.

This reinforces the highly self-directed nature of the local financial community.

Amanda Stent, Head of AI Strategy & Research in the CTO Office at Bloomberg, says: “Becoming effective with AI does not require a PhD in computer science – it requires curiosity and domain expertise.

“What is striking about these findings is the initiative London’s financial services professionals are showing in response to the rapid evolution of AI.

“They are learning by doing, experimenting and asking the tools themselves. That kind of self-directed curiosity is exactly what thriving in an AI-driven industry requires.”

The productivity paradox 

The research highlights a distinct productivity paradox across the financial sector. While 90% of professionals state that AI has boosted their productivity, nearly three-quarters say it has not actually reduced their workload.

Instead of shrinking the working day, the time saved by AI is being reinvested into business operations. For those who have freed up time, 51% are redirecting it toward higher-value activities like strategy, decision-making and client relationships.

Furthermore, 48% of professionals have reduced the time they spend on routine administration. A further 36% are collaborating more with colleagues, while only 32% said they were finishing work earlier.

Asked if rising productivity without shorter hours simply replaces manual labour with cognitive fatigue, Amanda highlights how saved time is being reinvested. 

Speaking to FinTech Magazine, she says: “The early productivity gains of AI are real but how those gains will be distributed over the long term is yet to be fully determined.

“What is reassuring from these findings is that when we asked professionals what they had done with the time AI has saved them, the most common answer was that they had spent more time on what they consider higher-value work.

“This was followed closely by a reduction in time spent on routine or administrative tasks. That direction of travel is encouraging and suggests evidence of professionals moving into work that demands more human judgement and expertise, not less.”

Cybercrime fears eclipse job losses 

Despite ongoing public debates about automation replacing workers, job displacement ranks among the lowest of concerns for London finance professionals. 

When asked to select their top three concerns regarding AI, the loss of entry-level and graduate roles was one of the least selected options.

Only 30% of professionals chose graduate role displacement as a major concern. By comparison, 45% of respondents selected AI-enabled cyberattacks and financial crime as their primary concern.

This confidence stems from the understanding that AI removes the friction of manual research but cannot replace human accountability. 

Amanda says: “As AI handles more of the information retrieval and synthesis, where humans commit their time shifts from performing the manual research to acting as the ultimate arbiter. Any government plan for AI adoption in financial services needs to account for that.”

While the workforce is eager to integrate AI, they draw a firm line when it comes to autonomous decision-making. There is a strong consensus that critical financial functions require human oversight.

Amanda adds: “In a world where information is abundant, judgement and leadership are the scarce resources. What this research shows is that London’s financial services professionals understand that and are positioning themselves accordingly.”