Bank of America Hires 1,000 Contractors to Patch AI-Exposed Software Flaws

Bank of America hired 1,000 contractors in the second quarter to help patch software flaws exposed by advanced AI models, including Anthropic’s Mythos, as it addressed vulnerabilities in its own and vendor software.

The contractors joined about 3,000 people in the bank’s patching effort. The work addressed risks uncovered by advanced models that can identify flaws in software, including vulnerabilities that may have existed for years.

Software remediation and anti-money-laundering compliance added “a couple hundred million plus” in third-quarter costs. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan expects remediation costs to decline as patches are completed and the backlog moves through the process.

Mythos was released in April to a limited group of banks, technology companies and government agencies. Its ability, alongside that of other advanced AI models, to expose software flaws has added urgency to companies’ efforts to strengthen their systems.

Separately, Bank of America has about 130 internal AI projects. Savings from those efforts are expected to increase from $300 million this year to $700 million in 2027.

The bank’s head count fell by about 3,400 over the past year, and it reduced the number of managers by roughly 5%.