BoE chief warns of AI cyber risks

The head of the world’s financial stability watchdog warned that greater cyber threats from frontier AI are heightening the risk of market disruptions.

Financial institutions and service providers should prepare for “severe scenarios involving simultaneous disruption across multiple firms or shared technology dependencies,” Andrew Bailey wrote in a letter Monday to G20 finance ministers and central bankers, joining a chorus of prominent voices warning about the threats highly advanced AI poses to critical infrastructure.

Bailey said firms should be prepared to restore critical systems from “bare metal” if necessary.

Meanwhile, central bankers in Jackson Hole, who were presented with dystopian scenarios where AI agents outmaneuver them, fretted more about “near-term and real-world implications of AI,” Reuters reported.