Yuriy Danilov: Over the past year, AI has changed my work more than fintech did over the previous ten years
22 June 2026 13:00“AI won’t replace humans. But a person who uses AI will almost certainly replace a person who doesn’t,” says Yuriy Danilov, an entrepreneur, investor, and fintech expert. In an interview with UA.News, he discussed how AI is transforming fintech, compliance, and the labor market.
Yuriy, everyone is talking about AI these days. Is this just another hype cycle or a genuine technological revolution?
I’ve been working in fintech and technology for a long time. During that time, we’ve seen blockchain, cryptocurrencies, mobile banking, open banking, and digital banks. Each of these technologies brought about change.
But for the first time, I’m seeing a technology that is literally changing the way people work every single day.
We’re constantly discussing AI in the office. Not because it’s trendy, but because almost every week, new tools emerge that let us do our work faster, better, and more cost-effectively.
Just a year ago, many tasks took hours. Today, they take minutes.
What exactly has changed in your work?
The biggest change is speed.
Previously, preparing a presentation, analyzing the market, writing an article, gathering information about a company, or drafting a business proposal required people, time, and dozens of hours of work.
Today, AI allows us to complete a significant portion of this work in a matter of minutes.
And it’s not even about saving money.
It’s about the fact that people start working at a whole new level.
You stop wasting time on routine tasks and start thinking more about strategy.
Many people fear that AI will take away jobs. Do you share these concerns?
Partially. I don’t think AI will replace people on a massive scale.
But I’m confident that people who know how to use AI will gradually replace those who ignore it.
And this applies to virtually any profession.
Lawyers.
Marketers.
Analysts.
Programmers.
Financiers.
The profession itself isn’t going away. The requirements for professionals are changing.
What AI capabilities impress you the most today?
To be honest, the speed of development.
Sometimes it feels like we’re not living in an era of technological change, but in the midst of a technological explosion.
Just a few years ago, we were amazed by voice assistants.
Today, we can already communicate with AI almost as if it were a real person.
It analyzes documents, conducts research, writes code, prepares presentations, helps with negotiations, and even generates videos.
And this is just the beginning.
How will AI impact the financial industry?
In my opinion, we’re just getting started. In the coming years, AI will transform:
compliance;
AML and KYC checks;
customer support;
risk assessment;
the account opening process;
internal banking operations.
What requires large teams today may be handled by a small number of people tomorrow with the support of AI.
Are there any risks?
Absolutely.
Every powerful technology has two sides.
AI can help people.
But it can also be used for fraud, manipulation, and creating fake content.
That’s why, as its capabilities grow, so must our sense of responsibility.
Technology is always neutral.
The only question is how people use it.
How do you see the world in 5–10 years?
I think most people today underestimate the scale of the changes to come.
In ten years, we’ll look at today’s business processes the same way we look at fax machines or paper archives today.
AI will become as fundamental a technology as the internet or the smartphone.
We’ll stop thinking of it as something separate.
It will simply be everywhere.
What advice would you give people today?
Don’t be afraid.
Experiment.
Learn.
And start using AI every day.
Because the future is already here. And it’s evolving much faster than most of us expected.
Read also:
Yuriy Danilov: “The future of financial technology is a combination of traditional finance, artificial intelligence, and digital assets”
A Forum with a Unique Flavor: Fintech Entrepreneur Yuriy Danilov Talks About MAC Yerevan 2026
