Goldman Sachs’ tech boss says he doesn’t track AI usage, he watches how fast teams produce an idea

As companies increasingly push employees to adopt the technology to try to spur productivity, Goldman’s Argenti is taking a different approach by measuring how quickly his engineering teams can move from coming up with an idea to actually executing on it. 

Even though the investment bank can see exactly how much each of its employees uses AI, including the 12,000 engineers Argenti oversees, laser-focusing on that detail isn’t helpful, he told Business Insider. 

“It would be like looking at only one player on the field,” Argenti said. “Fine, this player is doing more movements, but why am I not scoring more goals? Well, because they need to pass the ball.”

What works better, he added, is measuring the speed at which a team can develop a feature, which he said you can see because suddenly a productive team’s work backlog starts shrinking rapidly. 

AI tools have helped the bank’s employees go from creating PowerPoints for their ideas to creating prototypes that can be adjusted in real time based on feedback, he added.

“There’s zero time between idea and prototype. You kind of “3D print” software,” Argenti said.

Goldman’s stance on AI

Goldman has been on the forefront of implementing AI for years. In 2024, the company launched its GS AI Platform, which incorporated large language models like those from OpenAI and Google, but with a layer of security to protect the company’s private data. It has also launched an in-house version of ChatGPT as well as a system called “Legend” that saves employees time when doing research by letting them search the bank’s extensive files using natural language and without needing to know specifically which file they are looking for and where it is located.

Several companies, especially in tech have started pushing hard for employees to use AI tools. Google has started evaluating some software engineers based on their usage of AI tools, according to the Wall Street Journal, although managers have discretion on whether to take into account or not, a spokesperson told the Journal. Accenture CEO Julie Sweet also said last month AI fluency is a requirement for promotion. Sweet has warned the consulting firm is “exiting” employees who can’t or won’t get reskilled on AI. 

Although workers at Goldman, like most other workplaces, have previously been fearful or skeptical about AI, Argenti said employees’ attitudes are starting to change.

“The dominant sentiment is really a sense of empowerment. People feel almost liberated. A few weeks or months ago, of course, there was a real bit of skepticism and fear, but I correlate that to people that were not really using it,” he said.