Assignments with AI: Build an AI Financial Planner

In this sample assignment, students practice creating Google Gem to act as a financial planner and then analyze its output. Through this process, students practice building gems, developing procedures and documents for good financial planning and critically analyzing AI outputs.

AI Tool

Google Gemini / Gems

Summary

Students will create a Gem to act as a financial planner, then upload data and documents to test its capability and utility and analyze the Gem’s output using their own financial planning acumen. The main aim of this activity is to practice identifying, selecting and curating the information and documents required for financial planning. The secondary aim is to review and critique AI outputs.

Assignment Description & Instructions

Task: Build a Gem to act as a financial planner, then test its output and review its work. 

Step 1: Building a Gem 

Build a Gem that will act as an automated financial planner by

• Careful crafting of detailed instructions

• Identifying, selecting and curating knowledge bank materials and information

Step 2: Use the Gem to Create a Personal Financial Plan

Use your Gem to create a financial plan for a person (e.g. a parent or friend) using their financial data 

• Select and upload relevant data and documents

• Work with Gem to produce a coherent and complete financial plan 

Step 3: Analyze the AI Plan

Review the AI generated financial plan and analyze its effectiveness using your own expertise and knowledge, considering

• Appropriateness of the AI’s selection of investment and financial strategies 

• Elements the AI may have missed or misinterpreted 

• Elements the AI may have highlighted, detected or focused on that you may have overlooked

• Overall effectiveness of the Gem

Step 4: Compare Results

Meet with a small group of classmates and discuss your results. Share work and experiment with classmates’ Gems. Discuss:

• What materials and information did you select to build the Gem?

• Overall, how well did the Gem work?

• What were its strong points and weak points? 

• Were there any places where variation could pose client risk?

After small group discussions, come together and debrief as a class. 

Submission Requirements:

• Gem, with instructions and knowledgebank documents

• AI Generated Financial Plan

• Executive summary of analysis and comparison to human financial planning expertise 

Options for Adaptation 

This activity can be adapted for generally any type of process students are learning. Even if Gems are ultimately unsuccessful, students can practice articulating steps and processes and testing the capabilities of automation. This assignment can be adapted for creating marketing materials, brand analysis, market/environmental/regulation reports and beyond.

Contact the Nexus team at nexus@nyu.edu for assistance setting up this assignment or adapting it for your course.