The AI Regulation Summit 2023

While the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) to society, including the business community, are enormous, there has been a great deal of focus recently on how best AI models should be regulated to avoid any potential adverse consequences.

City & Financial Global’s timely global summit on this subject brings together some of the foremost experts to consider the various regulatory approaches that are being adopted internationally, the key legal issues involved in AI and how regulation can be coordinated at a supranational level to avoid regulatory arbitrage.

City and Financial Global was pleased to announce the next edition of Data and the Future of Financial Services Summit, which took place in Central London on 17 May. This high-profile conference built on the success of our well-established Digital, Technology and Data Events portfolio, which have become “must attend” gatherings for senior decision-makers in the UK financial services industry and beyond.

We were delighted to let you know that this important gathering was chaired by Vivienne Artz OBE, Chair of the IRSG Data Committee, and Data Strategy and Privacy Policy Advisor, CIPL.

The 13th annual edition of City Week was held in-person at Guildhall, London, and also streamed live on our media channels, over three days between 24-26 April 2023. As in previous years, CW2023 was organised in partnership with the UK Government, the City of London Corporation, TheCityUK, UK Finance and leading City institutions.

City Week brought together more than 1,000 top-level senior decision-makers from UK and overseas financial institutions for a comprehensive programme of cutting-edge presentations, panel discussions and networking. Like previous editions, this year’s forum  featured many well-known names from the global financial services industry, the world of politics and the international regulatory community.

City and Financial Global was pleased to announce the Regulation and Risk Management of AI in Financial Services Summit, which took place in Central London on the 9th of November. This high-profile conference built on the success of our well-established Digital, Technology and Data events portfolio, which have become “must attend” gatherings for senior decision-makers in the UK financial services industry and beyond.

This important summit brought together an exceptional panel of speakers to address all the regulatory and risk management issues surrounding the use of AI in the financial services industry.

“Our data challenges are substantial, but so is our ambition, our commitment and our determination. I know there is so much we can achieve in digital transformation by working together, sharing knowledge, experience and expertise across the public and private sectors, to shape and deliver truly transformative policies. And for all of us there could be no greater prize than to change people’s lives – for good.”

The confluence of Big Data, Cloud Computing and AI has revolutionised the opportunities and threats that data presents to data-intensive industries such as financial services. The industry’s experience of crisis response has shown the potential risks of data sharing to the firms and their customers. As the regulatory landscape evolves, it is becoming increasingly important to understand a) what is driving data risks in your organisation and b) how to stay alert to far greater scrutiny from regulators, who want financial services firms to build a strong data culture to ensure responsible, transparent and ethical use of machine learning and data analytics. Of course, the opportunities are also huge: AI-driven data analytics can massively increase personalisation of financial products and the granularity of risk assessment.

Fintech is rapidly transforming financial markets, whether in the form of fast-growing fintech companies or in the use of technology by incumbent institutions. It is a permanent technological revolution at the heart of finance, creating new business models, new products and new delivery channels.

For fintech founders and entrepreneurs, one of the big questions is which financial centre provides the best ecosystem in which to scale up and deliver on their business plans? The UK is arguably still the leading centre. It was the first country to launch a regulatory sandbox (now in its second phase) to catapult exciting and innovative new products to market. It has pioneered Open Banking, a concept that is now being widely copied around the world. It also launched the Global Innovation Network to bring the international regulatory community together in order to test innovative fintech solutions. However, no financial centre can afford to rest on its laurels in this fiercely contested area. The UK is moving swiftly to implement the Kalifa Review’s recommendations to make it even more attractive. At the same time, other international centres are rapidly improving their offerings.

Against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions, the question of whether the financial world is heading toward greater regulatory convergence or divergence is as relevant now as it has ever been. Will the UK use is hard-won emancipation from the perceived constraints of European regulation to develop a rule book that is markedly different and better suited to its needs? While we have seen some areas where the UK has begun to diverge, there has not yet been a wholesale revision of the regime. Of course, the EU is now focused on trying to build its own capital markets union so as to reduce its reliance on London. It also wants to relocate remaining euro-related activities to the continent. How will both of these trends play out in terms of changes to the EU’s regulatory approach? Looking beyond Europe, the economic decoupling of the U.S. from China could potentially lead to a less co-ordinated approach to financial regulation between China and Asia, on the one hand, and the U.S. and its allies, on the other.

Building on the work of the Artificial Intelligence Public Private Forum, convened by the Bank of England and the FCA, the Regulation and Risk Management of AI in Financial Services Summit will focus on how best to adapt regulation and best practice risk management to facilitate increased use of AI in financial services, with specific reference to model risk management, data protection and standards, strategic boardroom issues, governance, ethics and the role of senior management.