American Journal of Economics
p-ISSN: 2166-4951 e-ISSN: 2166-496X
2025; 15(1): 20-33
doi:10.5923/j.economics.20251501.03
Received: Aug. 11, 2025; Accepted: Sep. 5, 2025; Published: Sep. 8, 2025
Kamal Elie Makhoul, Dr. Naji Jammal
Faculty of Business Administration at Jinan University, Lebanon
Correspondence to: Kamal Elie Makhoul, Faculty of Business Administration at Jinan University, Lebanon.
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Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Scientific & Academic Publishing.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The crisis that Lebanon faced and continues to face in its finances, which started in 2019, was accompanied by one of the fastest developing areas of artificial intelligence in financial stability. The present paper considers the example of the Lebanese private financial sphere which has been adapted to the use of AI technologies to overcome one of the historical points of the economic crashes. Based on 150 participants (100 consumers, 50 companies) and a mixed-method study combined with SPSS analysis, the study found that Lebanese companies were interested in export to AI solutions in 64% of the cases researchers studied, in contrast to 55 percent of consumers who expressed interest in buying local goods rather than imports, even with a 95 percent local currency devaluation and the paralysis of the banking system. The research determines three decisive AI applications, such as the Neo Digital Bank algorithmic platform that successfully reduces the cost by 40%, the cryptocurrency adoption that reached 78% of the businesses surveyed, and the machine learning-based risk assessment systems that happen to be 92% accurate in cases of hyperinflation. The results point to the dual nature of AI as crisis reduction strategy and adaptation system since Lebanese fintech continued to hold the status of third-largest ecosystem in MENA despite unfavorable economic conditions. Nonetheless, the capabilities of AI have limitations due to infrastructure limitations and regulatory loop holes. The study will help gain insight into the use of AI during the crisis, providing a rare natural experiment on the use of algorithms to address financial problems on a scale of maximum economic strain. The recommendations on the policy state that the focus areas require regulatory frameworks concerning AI governance, investments in infrastructure and engagement of the government and society through public-private partnership in addressing the crisis using AI.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Financial Crisis, Lebanon, Digital Banking, Economic Resilience, Fintech
Cite this paper: Kamal Elie Makhoul, Dr. Naji Jammal, Algorithms Meet Adversity: AI in Lebanon's Battle Against Financial Crisis, American Journal of Economics, Vol. 15 No. 1, 2025, pp. 20-33. doi: 10.5923/j.economics.20251501.03.
![]() | Figure 1. Methodology framework |
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