Suppetia ex machina: How can AI technologies aid financial decision-making of people with low socioeconomic status?

In this conceptual paper, we outline how individuals with low socioeconomic status are more vulnerable to making choices that undermine their welfare in economic decision environments that require an acceptable comprehension of risk. We propose that novel technologies, specifically Artificial Intelligence, can aid in improving financial decision-making for individuals with low risk awareness, and we suggest avenues where policy can leverage emerging Artificial Intelligence technologies to design specific choice architecture that may support more risk-aware decision-making of vulnerable socioeconomic groups. Lastly, we discuss the ethics of utilizing nudges in vulnerable populations, the limitations of our approach, and how our paper can pave way for future research to improve decision-making for socioeconomically vulnerable individuals.