US Treasury Department Invites Public Input on AI Use in Financial Sector

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has issued a request for information regarding the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the Financial Services Sector.

Treasury aims to gather public feedback on how AI is utilized in financial services, along with identifying the opportunities and risks associated with its advancements and applications in this sector.

This move builds upon Treasury's ongoing efforts in cybersecurity and fraud detection related to AI, as well as recent initiatives undertaken by other federal agencies.

“Treasury is proud to be playing a key role in spurring responsible innovation, especially in relation to AI and financial institutions. Our ongoing stakeholder engagement allows us to improve our understanding of AI in financial services. The Biden Administration is committed to fostering innovation in the financial sector while ensuring that we protect consumers, investors, and our financial system from risks that new technologies pose,”  said Under Secretary for Domestic Finance Nellie Liang. 

The Treasury's request for information aims to comprehend AI's role in financial services and assess associated opportunities and risks, including impacts on various stakeholders.

“The Treasury is seeking a broad range of perspectives on this topic and is particularly interested in understanding how AI innovations can help promote a financial system that delivers inclusive and equitable access to financial services,” it said in a statement.

Earlier this year,  the department recovered over US$375 million by deploying an advanced AI-powered fraud detection system in fiscal year 2023.

To counter cheque fraud, the Treasury's Office of Payment Integrity (OPI), under the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service), has deployed an upgraded AI-powered process to combat the rise in fraud.

This initiative aims to swiftly identify and mitigate check fraud in near real-time, enhancing the efficiency of recovering potentially fraudulent payments from financial institutions. Notably, this was the first time the treasury acknowledged the use of AI in fraud detection.