Thank you, Alexander [Campbell] for the introduction. Thanks also to Genevieve Furtado and the other conference organizers for the invitation to speak here today, at the 19th Annual Operational Risk North America Conference. I understand that this is the Champagne Keynote address. Given that title, I feel obligated as an economist to share with you the reported last words of John Maynard Keynes – the father of modern macroeconomics: "I should have drunk more champagne." I hope my words here today do not inspire a similar sentiment. And finally, I must remind you that the views that I express today are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission or its staff.[1] My remarks this afternoon will center on a technology topic that is encroaching on many aspects of our lives and increasingly so within financial markets: Artificial Intelligence. Perhaps better known by its two-letter acronym "AI," artificial intelligence has been the fodder of science fiction writing for decades. But the technology underlying AI research has recently found applications in the financial sector – in a movement that falls under the banner of "Fintech."

More and more entities are deploying machine learning and artificial intelligence to automate tasks previously performed by humans. Such efforts carry with them real benefits, such as the enhancement of operational efficiency and the reduction of costs, but they also raise a number of concerns regarding their potential impacts on human society, particularly as computer algorithms are increasingly used to determine important outcomes like individuals' treatment within the criminal justice system. This mixture of benefits and concerns is starting to attract the interest of regulators. Efforts in the European Union, Canada, and the United States have initiated an ongoing discussion around how to regulate "automated decision-making" and what principles should guide it. And while not all of these regulatory efforts will directly implicate private companies, they may nonetheless provide insight for companies seeking to build consumer trust in their artificial intelligence systems or better prepare themselves for the overall direction that regulation is taking.

The U.K.'s University of Surrey has announced that it's securing digital government records of national video archives around the world against tampering using blockchain tech and artificial intelligence (AI). In a press release provided to CoinDesk, the university said its Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP) has teamed up with the Open Data Institute and the National Archives in the U.K. to develop what it calls a "highly secure, decentralised computer vision and blockchain based system" called ARCHANGEL, which is designed to preserve the integrity of digital archives for the long term. Computer vision is a field in which computers are programmed to analyze and understand digital images or videos. The system "essentially provides a digital fingerprint for archives, making it possible to verify their authenticity," according to project lead at the University of Surrey, Professor John Collomosse. ARCHANGEL uses blockchain tech as a database maintained by a number of archives.

On Thursday 16th May, I had the pleasure of speaking at the UNESCO International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education, in Beijing. In my speech, I outlined what I think are the two most important AI principles for countries. Firstly, that AI will only succeed if it will make us more, not less, human, and secondly, that algorithms can inform our decisions and policies but must not become policy makers. Policy makers must remain human and must remain in charge. The outcome of the conference was in the consensus approved on the last day: AI in education has to be trustworthy, inclusive, and free from gender bias and privacy harms.

Companies across the world are leveraging artificial intelligence to communicate with customers, extract relevant insights out big data and solve some of the most complex problems. AI is everywhere and the way it is rising, it is prophesied to create 2.3 million jobs by 2020. However, even though AI seems to be the next big tide in the industry, many companies are not able to make the best out of this sought after technology. Maybe because they are lacking someone who would be able to make some serious decisions regarding this technology. And this calls for the much-needed job of a Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO).

Just as the number of connected consumer "things" is increasing, so too are industrial "things" such as pumps, valves and remote terminal units. They get integrated into standard technology platforms, and connected to the Internet in pursuit of tantalizing operational efficiencies such as predictive maintenance and smart metering. This means that the operational technology (OT) in our manufacturing plants, power grids and water treatment facilities become vulnerable to threats faced by all other networked technologies, increasing the surface area of risk available to threats from bad actors. The delivery mechanisms for critical services become potential targets, from energy production, transmission and distribution to assembly lines and robotics. Many security technology overlaps exist between IoT and IT, however, IoT security involves monitoring physical devices, connections, authentication and data transfers at far greater volume than is common in IT today.

SWITZERLAND, GENEVA – Singapore announced that its work in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance and Ethics has won a top award at the prestigious World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes1. The winners of the 18 categories2 of the WSIS Prizes were announced today during an award ceremony at the annual WSIS Forum held in Geneva, Switzerland. Singapore won in the "Ethical Dimensions of the Information Society" category, beating four other finalists3 across the globe. Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) Assistant Chief Executive (Data Protection and Innovation) Yeong Zee Kin received the prize at the ceremony in Geneva. Singapore's AI Governance and Ethics initiatives aim to build an ecosystem of trust to support AI adoption. These initiatives advance Singapore's vision to be a leading Digital Economy and Smart Nation through balancing business innovation and consumer trust and confidence in adopting AI.

ABU DHABI - President Donald Trump's national security adviser warned Iran on Wednesday that any attacks in the Persian Gulf will draw a "very strong response" from the U.S., taking a hard-line approach with Tehran after his boss only two days earlier said America wasn't "looking to hurt Iran at all." John Bolton's comments are the latest amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran that have been playing out in the Middle East. Bolton spoke to journalists in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which only days earlier saw former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warn there that "unilateralism will not work" in confronting the Islamic Republic. The dueling approaches highlight the divide over Iran within American politics. The U.S. has accused Tehran of being behind a string of incidents this month, including the alleged sabotage of oil tankers off the Emirati coast, a rocket strike near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and a coordinated drone attack on Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi rebels. On Wednesday, Bolton told journalists that there had been a previously unknown attempt to attack the Saudi oil port of Yanbu as well, which he also blamed on Iran.

As lawmakers, citizens, and company's debate the use of facial recognition software in the U.S., tech giants in America and China have been busy hawking products to eager surveillance states abroad. Among the burgeoning markets, according to a report by Buzzfeed News, are monarchies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), particularly in Dubai, where political leaders have often jailed citizens and journalists that they deem to be political dissidents. Critics of the UAE include Human Rights Watch (HRW) who has frequently derided the country for its authoritarian tendencies. Private companies like IBM are looking to governments accused of violating human rights as a market for facial recognition software. 'UAE authorities have launched a sustained assault on freedom of expression and association since 2011,' says HRW in its analysis.

An initiative by the U.S. military looks to develop what one researcher is calling'Google Earth on steroids' that maps entire landscapes, helping to simulate environments and train soldiers. In a report from National Defense, one researcher working on the project revealed that the system will be granular enough to map the inside of buildings and eventually entire cities which can then be used in simulated training exercises. The military hopes to inform the creation of these realistic simulations, what they call Simulated Training Environments (STE), by building a comprehensive and highly detailed 3D map of locations around the globe -- an initiative dubbed One World Terrain. An initiative by the U.S. military looks to develop what one researcher is calling ' Google Earth on steroids' that maps entire landscapes. Simulations could help the U.S. military train soldiers and glean useful data in the field While the project may sound like a developer's nightmare, recent advances in drone technology and databases of satellite imagery have brought the project firmly into reality.