In this episode of FRT, we welcome Russell Wald, Deputy Director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), to discuss important developments and various projects being advanced within the Institute as a leading voice on the future of AI. These topics include the findings of the 2023 AI Index Report, the case for a multilateral AI research institute, and work via the Center for Research on Foundation Models that, among other findings, sheds light on possible implications of European efforts to regulate AI. Russell also discusses key focus areas in human-centere ..read more

Digital Money and Future Scenarios for High-Value Flows Developments in tokenization and distributed ledger technology (DLT) are opening up new fronts in the evolution of digital money. High-value transactions—including large transfers between banks, payments by big corporations, and multi-billion dollar investments by companies, asset managers, and asset owners like pension and sovereign wealth funds—are coming into range as market actors seek programmability, automation, and efficiencies across a broader array of transaction types. In this episode of FRT, we explore potential scenarios for h ..read more

In this episode of FRT, Morten Bech, Head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub’s Swiss Centre, discusses Project Tourbillon, a recently completed project that developed two prototypes studying the trade-offs between privacy, security, and scalability for retail CBDCs, and how one might succeed at all three. Achieving this trifecta has been the focus of many engineers in the digital assets space. The lessons from Project Tourbillon are applicable to projects beyond retail CBDCs ..read more

In this episode of FRT, Julia Sterling, Vice President in Business Development for Big Data & Advanced Analytics at Commerzbank, discusses artificial intelligence, the EU’s AI Act, and the connection to data policies – particularly cross-border policies ..read more

In this episode of FRT, Ana Maria Prieto, Director of Payments System at the Central Bank of Colombia (Banco de la República), discusses the new payments infrastructure being built in Colombia, key objectives of the new system such as interoperability and security, and the timeline envisioned for this project. Ana Maria also provides insights on how private and public collaboration is fundamental for the new payments model in Colombia and how the different roles played by central banks and private actors complement each other to reach the end-users in the new infrastructure. Ana Maria also sha ..read more

In this episode of FRT, Ronit Ghose, Global Head of the Future of Finance think tank at Citi Global Insights, discusses the future of money, tokens, and games. Each year, Ronit’s team publishes the “Citi GPS: Global Perspectives and Solutions” report exploring trends in digital money. This year’s report, subtitled “Blockchain’s Next Billion Users and Trillions in Value” explores why innovation in money is different than innovation in other assets ..read more

In this episode of FRT, Fabian Astic, Managing Director and Global Head of Decentralized Finance and Digital Assets at Moody’s Investors Service, asks critical questions like “Why do we need digital currencies?” and “What is their value?” Fabian analyzes the use cases for various types of digital currency, from cyptoassets to stablecoins to deposit tokens to CBDCs, and closes by sharing his views on the future of decentralized finance ..read more

In this episode of FRT, Tom Mutton, Director of Fintech at the Bank of England, discusses the Bank’s joint consultative report with HM Treasury, titled “The digital pound: a new form of money for households and businesses?” Tom additionally comments on the future of financial infrastructure, addressing privacy, interoperability, public vs. private solutions, and the future of decentralized technologies ..read more

In this episode of FRT, Yue Hong Zhang of Boston Consulting Group (Hong Kong) and Daniel Wu of Amazon Web Services (APAC) discuss emerging technologies and the future of financial infrastructure, including the development of cloud, artificial intelligence, digital assets, blockchain technology, and the policy environment shaping the adoption of these technologies in the Asia Pacific region ..read more

This episode of FRT reflects on the role of cloud computing in the future of finance, and the recent US Treasury Report on the topic, with Howard Boville, Head of IBM Cloud Platform & Technology Lifecycle Services. Cloud computing is an essential tool for the digital transformation of financial services, but its rise has been accompanied by a global policy dialogue on the role of cloud computing and the appropriate frameworks to manage risk and oversight. The US official sector had been comparatively quiet on the subject; however, a recent report from the US Treasury has put forward a comp ..read more