ML models already outperform human analysts on default prediction
#1ML models from vendors like Zest AI, Upstart, and Pagaya consistently demonstrate 20-40% improvement in default prediction (measured by Gini coefficient or AUC) over traditional scorecards and human judgment on standardized credit products. Banks including BMO, Discover, and US Bank have deployed these in production for auto, personal, and SME lending. Research from the Fed and Bank of England confirms ML superiority on structured data prediction tasks.