Generative AI has the potential to transform the finance function. By taking on some of the more mundane tasks that can occupy a lot of time, generative AI tools can help free up capacity for more high-value strategic work. For chief financial officers, this could mean spending more time and energy on proactively advising the business on financial strategy as organizations around the world continue to weather ongoing geopolitical and financial uncertainty.
CFOs can use large language models (LLMs) and generative AI tools to support everyday tasks like generating quarterly reports, communicating with investors, and formulating strategic summaries, says Andrew W. Lo, Charles E. and Susan T. Harris professor and director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at the MIT Sloan School of Management. “LLMs can’t replace the CFO by any means, but they can take a lot of the drudgery out of the role by providing first drafts of documents that summarize key issues and outline strategic priorities.”
Generative AI is also showing promise in functions like treasury, with use cases including cash, revenue, and liquidity forecasting and management, as well as automating contracts and investment analysis. However, challenges still remain for generative AI to contribute to forecasting due to the mathematical limitations of LLMs. Regardless, Deloitte’s analysis of its 2024 State of Generative AI in the Enterprise survey found that one-fifth (19%) of finance organizations have already adopted generative AI in the finance function.
Despite return on generative AI investments in finance functions being 8 points below expectations so far for surveyed organizations (see Figure 1), some finance departments appear to be moving ahead with investments. Deloitte’s fourth-quarter 2024 North American CFO Signals survey found that 46% of CFOs who responded expect deployment or spend on generative AI in finance to increase in the next 12 months (see Figure 2). Respondents cite the technology’s potential to help control costs through self-service and automation and free up workers for higher-level, higher-productivity tasks as some of the top benefits of the technology.
“Companies have used AI on the customer-facing side of the house for a long time, but in finance, employees are still creating documents and presentations and emailing them around,” says Robyn Peters, principal in finance transformation at Deloitte Consulting LLP. “Largely, the human-centric experience that customers expect from brands in retail, transportation, and hospitality haven’t been pulled through to the finance organization. And there’s no reason we cannot do that—and, in fact, AI makes it a lot easier to do.”
If CFOs think they can just sit by for the next five years and watch how AI evolves, they may lose out to more nimble competitors that are actively experimenting in the space. Future finance professionals are growing up using generative AI tools too. CFOs should consider reimagining what it looks like to be a successful finance professional, in collaboration with AI.
This content was produced by Insights, the custom content arm of MIT Technology Review. It was not written by MIT Technology Review’s editorial staff. It was researched, designed, and written by human writers, editors, analysts, and illustrators. AI tools that may have been used were limited to secondary production processes that passed thorough human review.
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.
How Trump’s policies are affecting early-career scientists—in their own words
Every year MIT Technology Review celebrates accomplished young scientists, entrepreneurs, and inventors from around the world in our Innovators Under 35 list. We’ve just published the 2025 edition. This year, though, the context is different: The US scientific community is under attack.
Since Donald Trump took office in January, his administration has fired top government scientists, targeted universities and academia, and made substantial funding cuts to the country’s science and technology infrastructure.
We asked our six most recent cohorts about both positive and negative impacts of the administration’s new policies. Their responses provide a glimpse into the complexities of building labs, companies, and careers in today’s political climate. Read the full story.
—Eileen Guo & Amy Nordrum
This story is part of MIT Technology Review’s “America Undone” series, examining how the foundations of US success in science and innovation are currently under threat. You can read the rest here.
This Ethiopian entrepreneur is reinventing ammonia production
In the small town in Ethiopia where he grew up, Iwnetim Abate’s family had electricity, but it was unreliable. So, for several days each week when they were without power, Abate would finish his homework by candlelight.
Growing up without the access to electricity that many people take for granted shaped the way Abate thinks about energy issues. Today, the 32-year old is an assistant professor at MIT in the department of materials science and engineering.
Part of his research focuses on sodium-ion batteries, which could be cheaper than the lithium-based ones that typically power electric vehicles and grid installations. He’s also pursuing a new research path, examining how to harness the heat and pressure under the Earth’s surface to make ammonia, a chemical used in fertilizer and as a green fuel. Read the full story.
—Casey Crownhart
Abate is one of the climate and energy honorees on our 35 Innovators Under 35 list for 2025. Meet the rest of our climate and energy innovators here, and the full list—including our innovator of the year—here.
Texas banned lab-grown meat. What’s next for the industry?
Last week, a legal battle over lab-grown meat kicked off in Texas. On September 1, a two-year ban on the technology went into effect across the state; the following day, two companies filed a lawsuit against state officials.
The two companies, Wildtype Foods and Upside Foods, are part of a growing industry that aims to bring new types of food to people’s plates. These products, often called cultivated meat by the industry, take live animal cells and grow them in the lab to make food products without the need to slaughter animals.
Texas joins six other US states and the country of Italy in banning these products—adding barriers to an industry that’s still in its infancy, and already faces plenty of challenges before it can reach consumers in a meaningful way. Read the full story.
—Casey Crownhart
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Videos of Charlie Kirk’s shooting are everywhere on social media It demonstrates just how poorly equipped platforms are to stop the spread of violent material. (NYT $) + Why social media can’t get on top of its graphic video problem. (NY Mag $) + Here’s how platforms say they’ll treat the videos. (The Verge) + Far-right communities reacted to Kirk’s murder by calling for more violence. (Wired $)
2 NASA has uncovered the clearest sign of life on Mars to date Some unusual rocks may have been formed by ancient microbes. (WP $) + Scientists are very excited by the possibility they were created by living organisms. (New Scientist $)
3 A California bill to regulate AI companion chatbots is close to passing It would become the first US state to make chatbot operators legally accountable. (TechCrunch) + Wall Street is only now starting to worry about “AI psychosis.” (Insider $) + AI companions are the final stage of digital addiction, and lawmakers are taking aim. (MIT Technology Review)
4 Larry Ellison briefly overtook Elon Musk as the world’s richest person His firm Oracle reported far better-than expected results. (The Guardian) + Oracle is riding high on a surge of demand for its data centers. (BBC) + But its continued success will depend on its ability to deliver promised hardware. (FT $)
5The ousted CDC director is set to testify before the US Senate RFK Jr repeatedly called Susan Monarez a liar during a hearing last week. (Ars Technica) + The backlash to Kennedy’s actions is intensifying. (NY Mag $)
6 A new system can pinpoint the best spot to hit an asteroid Making destroying them a whole lot safer, in theory. (New Scientist $) + Meet the researchers testing the “Armageddon” approach to asteroid defense. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Saudi Arabia is building some of the world’s biggest solar farms It needs plenty more electricity for its new resorts and data centers. (WSJ $) + AI is changing the grid. Could it help more than it harms? (MIT Technology Review)
8 CRISPR could help to combat diabetes Scientists successfully implanted insulin-producing edited cells into a man’s pancreas. (Wired $) + A US court just put ownership of CRISPR back in play. (MIT Technology Review)
9 How to save oyster reefs Conservation projects are helping to rebuild destroyed populations. (Knowable Magazine) + How the humble sea creature could hold the key to restoring coastal waters. (MIT Technology Review)
10 Bluesky is not as fun as it should be It fosters a culture of reactionary scolding that’s driving some users back to X. (New Yorker $)
Quote of the day
“For the love of God and Charlie’s family, just stop.”
—A poster on X begs fellow social media users to stop sharing images and videos of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s murder online, the Associated Press reports.
One more thing
This giant microwave may change the future of war
Imagine: China deploys hundreds of thousands of autonomous drones in the air, on the sea, and under the water—all armed with explosive warheads or small missiles. These machines descend in a swarm toward military installations on Taiwan and nearby US bases, and over the course of a few hours, a single robotic blitzkrieg overwhelms the US Pacific force before it can even begin to fight back.
The proliferation of cheap drones means just about any group with the wherewithal to assemble and launch a swarm could wreak havoc, no expensive jets or massive missile installations required.
The US armed forces are now hunting for a solution—and they want it fast. One of these is microwaves: high-powered electronic devices that push out kilowatts of power to zap the circuits of a drone as if it were the tinfoil you forgot to take off your leftovers when you heated them up. Read the full story.
—Sam Dean
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ They’ve finally done it—the Stephen King novel they claimed was impossible to adapt is coming to the big screen. + Do you have more zucchinis than you know what to do with? This tasty bread is one solution. + How The Penguin’s production designers transformed NYC into spooky, dirty Gotham. + This fascinating website shows you what today’s date looks like on dozens of different calendars and clocks.
Last week, a legal battle over lab-grown meat kicked off in Texas. On September 1, a two-year ban on the technology went into effect across the state; the following day, two companies filed a lawsuit against state officials.
The two companies, Wildtype Foods and Upside Foods, are part of a growing industry that aims to bring new types of food to people’s plates. These products, often called cultivated meat by the industry, take live animal cells and grow them in the lab to make food products without the need to slaughter animals.
Texas joins six other US states and the country of Italy in banning these products. These legal challenges are adding barriers to an industry that’s still in its infancy and already faces plenty of challenges before it can reach consumers in a meaningful way.
The agriculture sector makes up a hefty chunk of global greenhouse-gas emissions, with livestock alone accounting for somewhere between 10% and 20% of climate pollution. Alternative meat products, including those grown in a lab, could help cut the greenhouse gases from agriculture.
The industry is still in its early days, though. In the US, just a handful of companies can legally sell products including cultivated chicken, pork fat, and salmon. Australia, Singapore, and Israel also allow a few companies to sell within their borders.
Upside, Wildtype, and other cultivated-meat companies are still working to scale up production. Products are generally available at pop-up events or on special menus at high-end restaurants. (I visited San Francisco to try Upside’s cultivated chicken at a Michelin-starred restaurant a few years ago.)
Until recently, the only place you could reliably find lab-grown meat in Texas was a sushi restaurant in Austin. Otoko featured Wildtype’s cultivated salmon on a special tasting menu starting in July. (The chef told local publication Culture Map Austin that the cultivated fish tastes like wild salmon, and it was included in a dish with grilled yellowtail to showcase it side-by-side with another type of fish.)
The as-yet-limited reach of lab-grown meat didn’t stop state officials from moving to ban the technology, effective from now until September 2027.
The office of state senator Charles Perry, the author of the bill, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Neither did the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, whose president, Carl Ray Polk Jr., testified in support of the bill in a March committee hearing.
“The introduction of lab-grown meat could disrupt traditional livestock markets, affecting rural communities and family farms,” Perry said during the meeting.
In an interview with the Texas Tribune, Polk said the two-year moratorium would help the industry put checks and balances in place before the products could be sold. He also expressed concern about how clearly cultivated-meat companies will be labeling their products.
“The purpose of these bans is to try to kill the cultivated-meat industry before it gets off the ground,” said Myra Pasek, general counsel of Upside Foods, via email. The company is working to scale up its manufacturing and get the product on the market, she says, “but that can’t happen if we’re not allowed to compete in the marketplace.”
Others in the industry have similar worries. “Moratoriums on sale like this not only deny Texans new choices and economic growth, but they also send chilling signals to researchers and entrepreneurs across the country,” said Pepin Andrew Tuma, the vice president of policy and government relations for the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit think tank focused on alternative proteins, in a statement. (The group isn’t involved in the lawsuit.)
One day after the moratorium took effect on September 1, Wildtype Foods and Upside Foods filed a lawsuit challenging the ban, naming Jennifer Shuford, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, among other state officials.
A lawsuit wasn’t necessarily part of the scale-up plan. “This was really a last resort for us,” says Justin Kolbeck, cofounder and CEO of Wildtype.
Growing cells to make meat in the lab isn’t easy—some companies have spent a decade or more trying to make significant amounts of a product that people want to eat. These legal battles certainly aren’t going to help.
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.
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