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"Quick thinking might suit tech, but it’s fatal for finance" warn AI and financial experts

ended 30. October 2025

As AI collapses the time for people and businesses to perform even complex tasks, an AI expert, Colette Mason of London-based Clever Clogs AI, has warned its speed — and our acclimatisation to that speed — has the potential to negatively impact key financial decision-making in areas such as pensions, mortgages and investments. 

One broker, Harry Goodliffe, Director at HTG Mortgages, said the process is already underway: “We’re already seeing people expect complex financial decisions to be made in seconds, and that’s a problem. Mortgages, investments and big money commitments need space to breathe and our brains time to process. The faster AI pushes people to decide, the more emotional those decisions become. AI should support better thinking, not speed us into mistakes we can’t undo.”

Mason says that, thanks to neuroplasticity, every AI shortcut is subtly rewiring us, strengthening habits of speed and surface-level thinking while quietly dulling mental muscles such as patience, curiosity and deep focus — things that are often required for sensible financial decision-making.

She adds: “Here's the dangerous bit: rewired brains want to make fast financial decisions when they desperately need slow thinking. An adviser's job now includes cognitive speed governance: deliberately slowing urgent conversations and decisions down, building in reflection pauses, making "decide now" feel like the red flag it usually is. If you can't help people think slowly again, even temporarily, they'll make rapid decisions that can have disastrous consequences."

Patricia McGirr, Founder at Burnley-based Repossession Rescue Network, said quick thinking is fatal for finance: "We’re rapidly giving AI dominion over the last realm we truly own: our brains. AI is making our minds lazy, and that’s financial suicide.

"The more decisions we hand to machines, the more we lose the muscle of patience, curiosity and discernment, the very traits that protect people from poor financial choices.

“Quick thinking might suit tech, but it’s fatal for finance. Advisers now need to be speed-brakes, not accelerators. Because the real risk isn’t bad advice; it’s not thinking for yourself.”

Eamonn Prendergast, Chartered Financial Adviser at Palantir Financial Planning, agreed: "AI is speeding up key financial decisions but money needs a moment to breathe. Good advisers understand that behaviour drives financial outcomes. We’re not just number crunchers, we’re sounding boards who help clients pause before acting on emotion. In finance, wisdom still needs time to think."

Anita Wright, Chartered Financial Planner at Ribble Wealth Management, said: "AI compresses time and when you compress time, you change the mode of thinking. Much of sensible financial planning depends on slow, deliberative thinking: weighing trade-offs, checking assumptions and stress-testing plans. AI, by design, optimises for speed and fluency.

“When you put a fluent, fast-talking assistant into a domain that rewards patience, you create perfect conditions for misjudgement."

Ranald Mitchell, Director at Norwich-based Charwin Mortgages, said AI is already transforming how people approach financial decisions, including mortgages: "We’re seeing a growing expectation from borrowers for instant answers on how much they can borrow and what they’ll pay, which is fantastic progress for accessibility and transparency. But there’s a fine line between fast information and fast decisions.

"Buying a home or remortgaging is one of the most significant financial commitments most people will ever make and is a considered purchase. It still requires careful thought, reflection, and context.

“If AI conditions people to expect immediate conclusions, we could see a rise in impulsive financial behaviour that underestimates long-term consequences. The solution isn’t to slow down technology, but to embed human guidance into the process.”

Mitali Deypurkaystha, AI Strategist & Author at Newcastle upon Tyne-based Impact Icon AI warned that, in finance, cognitive outsourcing is creeping in fast. 

She said: "Instant forecasts and algorithmic insights make it tempting to skip reflection and trade discernment for data. Yet, sound financial judgment depends on patience, ethics and emotional regulation.

"If we prize only speed and efficiency, we risk training our brains to skim rather than think, and investment decisions will mirror that superficiality. AI could usher in a renaissance of financial wisdom, but only if we protect the time it takes to be thoughtful.”

Daniel Wiltshire, Actuary & IFA at Bradford-on-Avon-based Wiltshire Wealth, said simply: “Big financial decisions shouldn’t be made on the hoof. Effective planning requires genuine reflection on what truly matters in life. While advisers should embrace the efficiencies AI offers, they should remain mindful of its inability to grasp the emotional and human dimensions of decision-making.”

Meanwhile, Antonia Medlicott, MD at London-based Investing Insiders, said an additional danger of AI is its ability to get things wrong: “We recently conducted research on the reliability of AI, asking a range of tools, such as ChatGPT and OpenAI, 100 finance questions across a range of personal finance topics, including savings accounts, home-buying, and retirement.

"What we found was pretty startling: from the 100 questions we asked, AI tools were correct 56% of the time, deceptive or misleading for 27%, and just plain wrong 17% of the time.

"This raises an additional concern about our reliance on AI. Not only do we need to worry about whether AI is training our brains to expect instant answers, but it's often leading us to make the wrong decisions.”

11 responses from the Newspage community

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Eamonn Prendergast
Chartered Financial Adviser at Palantir Financial Planning Ltd
AI is speeding up key financial decisions but money needs a moment to breathe. Good advisers understand that behaviour drives financial outcomes. We’re not just number crunchers, we’re sounding boards who help clients pause before acting on emotion. Data and statistics can inform, but they can’t calm panic. During market shocks like the Trump tariff slump, most of the selling came from investors without advisers. Those with guidance were less likely to make knee-jerk decisions. AI can analyse markets, but it can’t yet manage human behaviour. In finance, wisdom still needs time to think.
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Harry Goodliffe
Director at HTG Mortgages
AI’s biggest danger isn’t bad advice, it’s fast advice. We’re already seeing people expect complex financial decisions to be made in seconds, and that’s a problem. Mortgages, investments, big money commitments, they need space to breathe and our brains time to process. The faster AI pushes people to decide, the more emotional those decisions become. AI should support better thinking, not speed us into mistakes we can’t undo.
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Anita Wright
Chartered Financial Planner at Ribble Wealth Management
AI compresses time and when you compress time, you change the mode of thinking. Much of sensible financial planning depends on slow, deliberative thinking: weighing trade-offs, checking assumptions and stress-testing plans. AI, by design, optimises for speed and fluency. It’s a language programme that predicts the next plausible words, not a truth engine—and it makes mistakes confidently. When you put a fluent, fast-talking assistant into a domain that rewards patience, you create perfect conditions for misjudgement. For clients under stress—bereavement, health issues, debt anxiety—the brain is already narrowed by cognitive load. Add AI’s speed and polish and you increase the risk of “going with the first good story”. The Consumer Duty asks us to anticipate foreseeable harm; an obvious one now is the harm that flows from accelerated decisions dressed in AI-confident language.
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Scott Gallacher
Director at Rowley Turton
AI is a great tool and should be viewed as an aid to decision-making, not a replacement for it. The concern about us being conditioned to make instant decisions is an interesting development, though to be fair, it’s probably a symptom of all technology. Letters once allowed at least a day for a response. Telegrams prompted a quicker reply, with the messenger often waiting while you drafted your return. Emails seemed to demand an instant answer. AI now takes that expectation to the next level — offering instant analysis and, increasingly, pushing us toward instant decisions. As a financial adviser, I generally encourage my clients to take their time when making decisions, as there’s rarely a need to act particularly quickly — apart from perhaps near the end of the tax year. Slowing things down usually leads to clearer thinking, better outcomes, and less potential regret for the client — a good thing for both client and adviser.
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Rob Mansfield
Independent Financial Advisor at Rootes Wealth Management
AI can cut out some of the grunt work of research, but to get the best out of it you need to question it and interrogate the answers. Jumping to the first conclusion can be disastrous. Sometimes I meet someone who has formed a plan and just wants a sense check. Initially it sounds logical but it's only once you dive into the detail and compare different routes that you realise that the initial plan is fatally flawed. You have to consider everything in the round.
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Ranald Mitchell
Director at bad credit mortgage specialists Charwin Mortgages
AI is transforming how people approach financial decisions and mortgages are no exception. We’re seeing a growing expectation from borrowers for instant answers on how much they can borrow and what they’ll pay, which is fantastic progress for accessibility and transparency. But there’s a fine line between fast information and fast decisions. Buying a home or remortgaging is one of the most significant financial commitments most people will ever make and is a considered purchase. It still requires careful thought, reflection, and context. If AI conditions people to expect immediate conclusions, we could see a rise in impulsive financial behaviour that underestimates long-term consequences. The solution isn’t to slow down technology, but to embed human guidance into the process. Smart AI tools should empower advisers and clients with clarity while trained professionals ensure decisions are balanced, considered, and truly in the client’s best interests.
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Editor
Antonia Medlicott
Founder & MD at Investing Insiders
We recently conducted research on the reliability of AI, asking a range of tools, such as ChatGPT and OpenAI, 100 finance questions across a range of personal finance topics, including savings accounts, home-buying, and retirement. What we found was pretty startling: from the 100 questions we asked, AI tools were correct 56% of the time, deceptive or misleading for 27%, and just plain wrong 17% of the time. This raises an additional concern about our reliance on AI - not only do we need to worry about whether AI is training our brains to expect instant answers, but it's often leading us to make the wrong decisions.
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Editor
Mitali Deypurkaystha
AI Governance Strategist & CMO at AISensa
AI is doing to our higher thinking what smartphones did to our memory. Remember when we could recall ten phone numbers by heart? Now most of us can barely recall our own. In finance, that same cognitive outsourcing is creeping in fast. Instant forecasts and algorithmic insights make it tempting to skip reflection and trade discernment for data. Yet, sound financial judgment depends on patience, ethics and emotional regulation. AI could help us delegate analysis while humans focus on strategy, empathy and long-term risk awareness. But that future won’t appear by accident. We must build an environment that rewards reflection as much as reaction. If we prize only speed and efficiency, we risk training our brains to skim rather than think, and investment decisions will mirror that superficiality. AI could usher in a renaissance of financial wisdom, but only if we protect the time it takes to be thoughtful.
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Premium
Daniel Wiltshire
Actuary & IFA at Wiltshire Wealth
Big financial decisions shouldn’t be made on the hoof. Effective planning requires genuine reflection on what truly matters in life. While advisers should embrace the efficiencies AI offers, they should remain mindful of its inability to grasp the emotional and human dimensions of decision-making.
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Patricia McGirr
Founder at Repossession Rescue Network
We’re rapidly giving AI dominion over the last realm we truly own; our brains. AI is making our minds lazy, and that’s financial suicide. The more decisions we hand to machines, the more we lose the muscle of patience, curiosity and discernment, the very traits that protect people from poor financial choices. Quick thinking might suit tech, but it’s fatal for finance. Advisers now need to be speed-brakes, not accelerators. Because the real risk isn’t bad advice; it’s not thinking for yourself.
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Scott Taylor-Barr
Principal Adviser at Barnsdale Financial Management
Whilst I think it is true that, overall, we are looking to make faster decisions and get services and goods delivered quicker, there seems to be some evidence that this way of thinking has a cutoff point. As the risk of getting the decision wrong increases, the confidence to trust AI and other methods of self-service drops, so whilst someone may be happy to use AI and internet portals to arrange a personal loan, there is a pause when it comes to arranging a mortgage, as the risk of getting that decision wrong is not easy to reverse and has long term consequences. Now the level at which this risk tipping point kicks in will likely be very different for different people, and may change over time as people get more and more used to handing over complex decisions to AI, but then as we hear more stories about AI getting things wrong; such as hallucinating case law and it being presented in court as fact, we may see that act as a counter point that holds back our trust of AI tools.