Fed's Waller says central bank deploying AI tech cautiously

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Tuesday the U.S. central bank ‌is carefully moving to adopt artificial intelligence ‌technology in a system-wide approach.

“We cannot approach AI casually,” and “as ​a central bank, we hold ourselves to a high standard” when using the technology, Waller said at a conference held by the Federal Reserve Bank ‌of Boston.

For the ⁠Fed and AI usage, “that means clear guardrails on how and where it’s used, ⁠strong information-security controls, rigorous model validation, human accountability for decisions, and ongoing evaluation as the technology ​evolves,” with ​innovation and risk management ​standing together as complementary ‌priorities, the Fed official said.

Waller did not comment on the economic and monetary policy outlook in his prepared remarks.

Waller said that despite the Fed being a highly decentralized organization, it is taking ‌a more unified approach to ​implementing AI technology.

“We’re moving ​as one system, ​with shared direction and alignment,” Waller ‌said. And in terms of ​deciding what ​to deploy the technology for, “we start with the problem to be solved and the business ​need, then apply ‌the right capability” from the suite of ​available AI technology.

(Reporting by Michael S. Derby; ​Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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