Your students are already asking AI chatbots what to do with their money, and they are not alone. A survey of 11,000 investors across 13 countries found that 19% were using ChatGPT-style tools to manage their portfolios, up 13% from the year before. The tools are confident, available at 2 a.m., and free. But does sounding confident mean being correct?

In the Wall Street Journal article, Why AI Chatbots Can’t Be Trusted for Financial Advice: They’re Sociopaths, writer Peter Coy lays out MIT finance professor Andrew Lo's case that today's large language models deliver good advice and bad advice with the same smooth, persuasive tone, and without any of the empathy a real adviser brings. “The AI people are using now can be dangerous, especially if the user isn’t fully aware of the biases, inaccuracies, and other limits,” Lo warnes.

[Image credit: Alex Nabaum for WSJ]

Click these links to access the article, student guide, and answer key

Wall Street Journal Article |  NGPF Student Reading Guide + Answer Key 

Reading time: ~4 minutes (697 words)

Discussion Questions

Use these to spark conversation after students read:

1. Lo compares current AI chatbots to "sociopaths" because they can sound convincing whether the advice is good or bad. Do you think this is a fair comparison? Why or why not?
2. Lo believes a truly helpful AI financial adviser is about four years away. Would you trust an AI with your financial decisions if it was designed to always act in your best interest? 

This reading pairs well with NGPF's Consumer Skills Unit.

This resource was created through NGPF's partnership with Dow Jones, bringing high quality financial journalism into personal finance classrooms across the country for free.

Every WSJ Wednesday, NGPF will highlight a classroom-ready article, video, or data crunch resource from the Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, or Barron's, including a student guide, discussion questions, and an answer key.

About the Author

Yonathan Tadesse

Yonathan is a Dallas-based Curriculum Designer at NGPF with 12 years of experience as a high school math, college transition, and financial literacy teacher. An award-winning educator, he has a track record of launching innovative programs at the high school level that expand access and opportunity for students. He is a graduate of Emory University and is passionate about advancing financial education for all students. Outside of work, Yonathan loves spending time with his wife and two kids, working out, playing chess and poker, and learning new things.

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