The Promise and Peril of Generative AI: Evidence from GPT as Sell-Side Analysts

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Li, Edward, Shen, Min, Tu, Zhiyuan, Zhou, Dexin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Li, Edward
Shen, Min
Tu, Zhiyuan
Zhou, Dexin
author_facet Li, Edward
Shen, Min
Tu, Zhiyuan
Zhou, Dexin
contents Large language models (LLMs) promise to democratize financial analysis by reducing information-processing costs. Yet equal access does not ensure equal outcomes, as the locus of friction may shift from processing information to evaluating model outputs. We study GPT's earnings forecasts following corporate earnings releases and document two patterns. First, GPT's narrative attention is consistent and human-like but not always associated with higher forecast accuracy. Second, its quantitative reasoning varies substantially across contexts, challenging the view that LLMs are uniformly weak at numerical tasks. Building on these insights, we propose a diagnostic framework that links forecast accuracy to observable processing features (i.e., narrative focus, numerical reasoning, and self-assessed confidence). These indicators serve as proxies for this new form of information friction and alert investors when to exercise caution. Our study has implications for information frictions, regulatory oversight, and the economics of AI-mediated financial markets.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_01069
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Promise and Peril of Generative AI: Evidence from GPT as Sell-Side Analysts
Li, Edward
Shen, Min
Tu, Zhiyuan
Zhou, Dexin
General Finance
General Economics
Economics
Large language models (LLMs) promise to democratize financial analysis by reducing information-processing costs. Yet equal access does not ensure equal outcomes, as the locus of friction may shift from processing information to evaluating model outputs. We study GPT's earnings forecasts following corporate earnings releases and document two patterns. First, GPT's narrative attention is consistent and human-like but not always associated with higher forecast accuracy. Second, its quantitative reasoning varies substantially across contexts, challenging the view that LLMs are uniformly weak at numerical tasks. Building on these insights, we propose a diagnostic framework that links forecast accuracy to observable processing features (i.e., narrative focus, numerical reasoning, and self-assessed confidence). These indicators serve as proxies for this new form of information friction and alert investors when to exercise caution. Our study has implications for information frictions, regulatory oversight, and the economics of AI-mediated financial markets.
title The Promise and Peril of Generative AI: Evidence from GPT as Sell-Side Analysts
topic General Finance
General Economics
Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.01069