Earlier this year, the New York Fed and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) co-organized an annual conference on the threat posed by cyber risks to financial stability.
In a blog, the New York Fed highlighted some key commentary. One participant said organizations must identify and quantify risks related to artificial intelligence (AI) — whether regulatory, internal, financial, or cybersecurity risks — and have the right controls in place, which could include human involvement to ensure accuracy and accountability. Another said it’s critical to understand the impact of trust when utilizing AI tools, given the growing risks associated with misinformation, deepfakes, and social fabric degradation. He added that financial firms could lead the charge in maintaining trust, as it is central to their business.
From a technologist’s perspective, AI deployment has a low barrier to entry, making it accessible, but the broader effect of AI-driven threats on society could be a significant loss of trust. In the area of cybersecurity, AI can compromise businesses by exacerbating phishing attacks, and regulators are focused on potential risks the technology poses to financial stability.
In another announcement the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a concept paper and proposed action plan for developing a series of control overlays for securing AI systems, as well as a launching a Slack channel for this community of interest.
The concept paper outlines proposed AI use cases for the control overlays to manage cybersecurity risks in the use and development of AI systems, and next steps. The use cases address generative AI, predictive AI, single and multi-agent AI systems, and controls for AI developers. NIST is interested in feedback on the concept paper and proposed action plan, and invites all interested parties to join the NIST Overlays for Securing AI (#NIST-Overlays-Securing-AI) Slack channel.