Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the U.S. central bank is moving deliberately as it integrates artificial intelligence into its operations, and that the effort will be applied across the Federal Reserve System in a coordinated fashion.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Waller cautioned that "We cannot approach AI casually," and added that "as a central bank, we hold ourselves to a high standard" when employing the technology. He mapped out specific safeguards the Fed will expect around its AI work.
According to Waller, the Feds approach to AI entails "clear guardrails on how and where its used, strong information-security controls, rigorous model validation, human accountability for decisions, and ongoing evaluation as the technology evolves," and he framed innovation and risk management as complementary priorities rather than competing aims.
Waller noted that the Federal Reserve is a highly decentralized institution but said the organization is pursuing a more unified approach to implementing AI. "Were moving as one system, with shared direction and alignment," he said, indicating a shift toward system-wide coordination on technology adoption.
On how the Fed will choose where to apply AI, Waller described a problem-first method: the process begins "with the problem to be solved and the business need, then apply the right capability" from available AI tools. That formulation emphasizes aligning technical capabilities with defined operational objectives rather than deploying technology for its own sake.
Waller did not address the economic and monetary policy outlook in his prepared remarks.
Contextual note: The remarks reflect internal Fed thinking about technology governance and the balance between adopting new capabilities and ensuring controls that preserve security, reliability and human oversight.