The Lessons Learned through a Failed Chatbot, with Imane Bakker

In this episode of the Digital Banking Podcast, host Josh DeTar welcomed Imane Bakkar, Managing Director at Logarisk. With years of experience in financial risk management, Imane unpacked how today's risk landscape had shifted—and why traditional models were no longer enough on their own.

Josh and Imane discussed how regulated institutions could navigate risk in an era defined by AI, speed, and interconnectivity. She pointed to real-world failures, a chatbot gone off the rails and algorithmic trading systems that misfired were discussed, to highlight the importance of designing controls that matched the use case. She also explained the role of "risk appetite" versus "risk tolerance," and why understanding that difference mattered.

The episode closed with a reflection on preparation versus prediction. Imane urged risk leaders to stop chasing the perfect model and instead focus on knowing their dependencies, designing for speed, and asking smarter questions—before the next crisis hit.