On 27 March 2025, Acting Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC), Mark T. Uyeda, delivered the keynote address at the Commission’s Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence in the Financial Industry, held in Washington D.C. Addressing an audience comprising in-person and virtual participants, US SEC Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda discussed the US SEC’s commitment to informed, innovation-supportive regulation, particularly in the face of rapidly evolving artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across financial markets.
US SEC Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda began by placing the current discourse on AI within a broader historical context. He noted that the integration of emerging technologies into US financial markets is not unprecedented, referencing earlier innovations such as the stock ticker machine, telephone networks, and electronic trading systems. According to him, the capacity to adopt and adapt to new technologies has been a key driver in maintaining the competitiveness of US capital markets, which continue to lead the world in terms of liquidity, depth, and capital cost efficiency. Various forms of AI have long been embedded within financial products and services, but recent advances, driven by increased investment and innovation, have significantly broadened AI’s potential use cases. These include internal process automation, software development, investor communication tools, risk analytics, and supervisory technologies.
US SEC Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda expressed concern over recent regulatory proposals that may, in effect, impose undue restrictions on the use of predictive data analytics and other AI-driven tools by broker-dealers and investment advisers. He cautioned against prescriptive regulatory models that result in burdensome compliance, inhibit innovation, and risk becoming obsolete in the face of rapid technological change.
US SEC Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda also acknowledged that while AI holds considerable promise, it introduces a range of risks that are highly context-specific. He stressed that any regulatory evaluation of AI-related risks must be grounded in empirical data and real-world use cases. To this end, he called for continued engagement between the Commission and external stakeholders, including innovators, market participants, and technology providers, to promote a balanced and evidence-driven regulatory framework.
US SEC Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda thanked the roundtable’s panellists for their contributions and extended appreciation to various divisions of the US SEC, including the Division of Economic Risk and Analysis, the Division of Examinations, the Office of Support Operations, and the Office of Public Affairs, for their efforts in organising the event.
(Source: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/uyeda-ai-roundtable-032725)
