Statement Summary
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched an AI Task Force to enhance innovation and efficiency within the agency through the responsible use of artificial intelligence. Led by Valerie Szczepanik, the newly appointed Chief AI Officer, the initiative aims to centralize and streamline AI integration across the SEC. The Task Force will facilitate collaboration, focus on beneficial AI applications, and support various divisions in their AI efforts.
SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins emphasized that this initiative will provide staff with AI tools to augment their capabilities and improve operational efficiency, aligning with the Commission’s mission to protect investors and promote fair markets. Szczepanik, with a background in innovation and enforcement, will oversee the development of trustworthy AI solutions that elevate the SEC’s mission.
Original Statement
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the launch of a task force on artificial intelligence (AI) that will spearhead the agency’s efforts to enhance innovation and efficiency in its operations through the responsible use of AI. Valerie Szczepanik, who has been named the SEC’s Chief AI Officer, is leading the task force.
Recognizing the transformative potential of AI, the SEC’s AI Task Force will accelerate AI integration to bolster the SEC’s mission. It will centralize the agency’s efforts and enable internal cross-agency and cross-disciplinary collaboration to navigate the AI lifecycle, remove barriers to progress, focus on AI applications that maximize benefits, and maintain governance. The task force will support innovation from the SEC’s divisions and offices and facilitate responsible AI integration across the agency.
“The AI Task Force will empower staff across the SEC with AI-enabled tools and systems to responsibly augment the staff’s capacity, accelerate innovation, and enhance efficiency and accuracy,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. “By ingraining innovation into our culture SEC-wide, we will further our mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.”
Ms. Szczepanik said, “I thank Chairman Atkins for selecting me to lead this important initiative for the agency. The AI Task Force will aim to centralize and align efforts to advance AI-enabled transformation across the entire Commission. I look forward to accelerating work already underway in the SEC’s divisions and offices to build enterprise capacity for AI innovation and implement AI solutions that are trustworthy, effective, and mission enhancing.”
Ms. Szczepanik previously was Director of the SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology. She was the Senior Advisor for Digital Assets and Innovation and an Associate Director in the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance. Before that, she served as Assistant Director in the Division of Enforcement. Ms. Szczepanik served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Ms. Szczepanik received her JD from Georgetown University and her BS in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
