The United States Treasury is gearing up for a whirlwind of challenges and opportunities stemming from the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) in the years ahead.
This was the central focus as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen delivered the keynote address at the Conference on artificial intelligence and financial stability. The event was organized by the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) in collaboration with the Brookings Institution on June 6-7.
According to FSOC, this marks the first occasion in a decade that the council has hosted an event of this caliber.
In her keynote speech, Secretary Yellen issued a formal call to action in the form of a request for public feedback on the risks and opportunities presented by AI from financial institutions, consumers, and other stakeholders invested in U.S. financial stability.
Yellen outlined a number of key advantages for financial institutions leveraging AI, including enhanced cybersecurity, more precise forecasting and predictions, as well as improved customer service and account management.
Nevertheless, as the Secretary emphasized, “there are also new challenges to address, and this is a swiftly advancing field.” Pointing to the “remarkable opportunities” and “significant risks” associated with AI technologies, Yellen remarked, “we have our work cut out for us.”
Among the potential risks mentioned by Yellen were concerns regarding the centralization of AI models and data, which could potentially leave numerous market institutions vulnerable to a single point of failure. She also highlighted the possibility for AI to perpetuate or worsen bias due to the opaque nature of many models.
In a related development, U.S. antitrust enforcer Jonathan Kanter revealed that his office is conducting an investigation into the AI sector with regards to monopoly issues.
As recently reported by Cointelegraph, Kanter’s concerns extend to various aspects of the AI technology stack and whether a few companies hold sway over key junctures in the development process.
The office is expected to scrutinize matters such as Microsoft’s extensive hold on the cloud computing market and Nvidia’s dominance in the AI chipset market.