Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Inc

The adoption and use of artificial intelligence tools by us and our third-party vendors and service providers may increase the risk of errors, omissions, unfair treatment or fraudulent behavior by our employees, clients, or counterparties, or other third parties.

Similar wording appears in 7 other banks' reports.

We are in the process of implementing artificial intelligence, including generative artificial intelligence, machine learning, and similar tools and technologies that collect, aggregate, analyze or generate data or other materials or content (collectively, “AI”), for internal use. We expect to adopt such tools as appropriate to increase efficiency, in line with our AI Strategy. In addition, we expect our third-party vendors and service providers to increasingly develop and incorporate AI into their product offerings faster than we are able to do so independently. There are significant and evolving risks involved in utilizing AI, and no assurance can be provided that our or our third-party vendors’ or service providers’ use of AI will enhance our or our third-party vendors’ or service providers’ products or services or produce the intended results. The adoption and incorporation of such AI tools can lead to concerns around safety and soundness, fair access to financial services, fair treatment of consumers, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Such risk can result from models being incorrectly or inadequately designed or trained, inadequate model testing or validation, narrow or limited human oversight, inadequate planning or due diligence, inappropriate or controversial data practices by developers or end-users, and other factors adversely affecting public opinion of AI and the acceptance of AI solutions. Further, generative AI has been known to, and may continue to, create biased, incomplete, inaccurate, misleading or poor-quality output or produce other discriminatory or unexpected results, errors, or inadequacies, any of which may not be easily detectable. AI solutions may also be adversely impacted by unforeseen defects, technical challenges, cyber-attacks, cybersecurity breaches, service outages or other similar incidents, or material performance issues. We have implemented an AI governance function and risk management framework that includes a risk assessment of internal and vendor AI solutions, due diligence, model validation, and controls. However, given the pace of rapid adoption of such tools by vendors and service providers, we may not be aware of the addition of AI solutions prior to such tools being introduced into our environment. Failure to adequately manage AI risks can result in erroneous results and decisions made by misinformation, unwanted forms of bias, unauthorized access to sensitive, confidential, proprietary or personal information, and violations of applicable laws and regulations, leading to operational inefficiencies, competitive harm, reputational harm, ethical challenges, legal liability, losses, fines, and other adverse impacts on our business and financial results. If we do not have sufficient rights to use the data or other material or content on which the AI tools we use rely, or to use the output of such AI tools, we also may incur liability through the violation of applicable laws and regulations, third-party intellectual property, privacy or other rights, or contracts to which we are a party. Further, our competitors or other third parties may incorporate AI into their business or operations more quickly or more successfully than us, which could impair our ability to compete effectively.

In addition, regulation of AI is rapidly evolving as legislatures and regulators are increasingly focused on these powerful emerging technologies. The technologies underlying AI and its uses are subject to a variety of laws and regulations, including intellectual property, data privacy and cybersecurity, consumer protection, competition, equal opportunity, and fair lending laws, and are expected to be subject to increased regulation and new laws or new applications of existing laws and regulations. AI is the subject of ongoing review by various U.S. governmental and regulatory agencies, and various U.S. states are applying, or are considering applying, existing laws and regulations to AI or are considering general legal frameworks for AI. We may not be able to anticipate how to respond to these rapidly evolving frameworks, and we may need to expend resources to adjust our operations or offerings in certain jurisdictions if the legal frameworks are inconsistent across jurisdictions. Furthermore, because AI technology itself is highly complex and rapidly developing, it is not possible to predict all the legal, operational or technological risks that may arise relating to the use of AI. We expect our use of AI will require additional resources, including the incurrence of additional costs, to develop and maintain our products and services to minimize potentially harmful or unintended consequences, to comply with applicable and emerging laws and regulations, to maintain or extend our competitive position, and to address any ethical, reputational, technical, operational, legal, competitive or regulatory issues which may arise as a result of any of the foregoing.

Similar wording appears in 7 other banks' reports.

Fintechs and other technology-driven platforms are expanding their presence, offering a wide variety of products and services that challenge traditional banking models. The growing experimentation with and adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, blockchain, stablecoins, and other digital currencies-including the potential issuance, acceptance, and integration of central bank digital currencies-have the potential to fundamentally reshape the financial services landscape. Developments in the regulatory landscape relating to emerging technologies, such as the enactment and implementation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act of 2025 (“GENIUS Act”) and potential enactment of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (“CLARITY Act”) or similar market structure legislation, may affect our clients’ needs and expectations for products and services. Failure to keep pace with technological advancements may adversely affect our competitive position, diminish customer satisfaction, and reduce the accessibility and relevance of our products and services.