It is impossible to have a “zero error approach” to artificial intelligence, according to the Bank of England’s Tom Mutton.
The BoE’s director of digital currency was one of four to appear in front of the government’s Treasury committee today (October 15) to speak about AI in financial services.
Mutton said: “It is going to be impossible to get to a zero error approach here.
“The way that we approach this is to say, there will be events which cause disruption, so how do you respond to them? How do you recover from them? How do you minimise that disruption? How do you stay within your impact tolerances?”
He said it was important to “strike the right balance” between prevention, detection and remediation.
David Geale, digital finance boss at the FCA, said while there are risks of AI, there are also opportunities that come with the technology, highlighting a positive impact on financial advice.
He said the FCA is “alive” to the risks and believes people will come to the regulator when risks arise.
“For every risk, there is an opportunity that comes with it, and it is about balancing the two,” said Geale.
“The ability to give more people advice can be seen as a positive but it has got to be done safely, and we have to monitor and be alive to those outcomes.
“But if we can get more people advice, that is positive for growth and we would want to encourage that because it matches our objectives and improves people’s lives.”
tara.o’connor@ft.com
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