our technological and data skills and capabilities has also been a focus of the central bank. while this involves an array of initiatives to develop organisational capabilities and better embed a data culture in the bank, i would like to highlight a particular initiative which we launched this week. artificial intelligence is already an important technology for financial services firms, central banks, and the wider economy – and is becoming more central to the provision of financial services to both households and businesses. ai, like all innovation, poses both benefits and risks. though the nature and scale of those benefits and risks is still uncertain, their potential is significant. in this regard, on monday i was delighted to launch a research partnership programme between the central bank and insight research ireland centre for data analytics. this partnership represents for both organisations a landmark collaboration to push the boundaries of artificial intelligence ( ai ) and data science. for the bank, it will provide us with additional capacity to deepen our understanding of applications of ai and data science to safeguarding consumers and the financial system ; and it will help us as an organisation to better anticipate, support and manage the risks of innovation related to ai, which i believe will be central to delivering on our mandate in the future. while the programme is just one element that will build capacity for the bank to supervise ai and to use ai and data science itself across all our roles, the partnership will enable us to catalyse activity to answer applied policy - driven and fundamental research questions related to ai, data science, and related disciplines – all for the public good in ireland. conclusion so let me conclude. fintech is an increasingly important of our financial system, as tech and finance become increasingly inseparable. that may well accelerate in the coming years, along with the digitalisation of the rest of society – with more widespread and deeper usage of ai and tokenisation representing the potential next frontier. 7 / 8 bis - central bankers'speeches as i have said technology itself is not necessarily good or bad – what matters is how it is deployed. this includes how innovative firms run their businesses, and manage the risks facing them, their customers and the system. and while such changes to our system, and the potential changes to come, may be fundamental, they will not alter our supervisory fundamentals – though it may alter how we need to deliver them. for protecting consumers and the system – through good governance, risk management, and resilience – will always remain key. so too will the fact that it

and technology. we are an institution over 80 years old, with a core mandate largely unchanged during that time. we serve the public interest by maintaining monetary and financial stability while ensuring that the financial system operates in the best interests of consumers and the wider economy. and so although times change, and we change with the times, our mandate for stability has broadly stayed the same. meaning that in times of rapid innovation while we need to adapt ( and indeed we are adapting, as i will touch on later ), we also need to stay focused – on broader outcomes to deliver on our mandate in the public interest. this requires us to be technology neutral – but not technology blind – i would say. and from a supervisory point of view suggests we approach fintech and technology in the financial sector as we do all other supervision – in that we focus on ensuring we are delivering our four inter - related safeguarding outcomes, namely : safety and soundness, consumer and investor protection, integrity of the system and financial stability. in many ways technology poses both benefits and risks to all of these outcomes. technology and innovation can deliver better outcomes for consumers and investors ; but it can also, of course, expose them to increased and unexpected risks. technology is in today's world intricately linked with the safety and soundness of firms – in terms of evolving business models as well as developing and maintaining financial and operational resilience in a digital age, with operational continuity and resilience key given the 24 / 7 digital service offerings of many firms. technology can also be the cause of, and solution to, financial integrity risks – with inherent money laundering risks in some innovative sectors, but also innovative antimoney laundering tools and solutions being provided by technological advancements. in terms of financial stability, digitalisation and innovation can also have both positive and negative implications : providing diversification, efficiency and transparency – but also increasing complexity, potential concentration risks, not to mention the role technology and social media could play in times of financial fragility. so in the end, to quote kranzberg, it would seem from a supervisory outcomes point of view " technology is neither good nor bad, nor is it neutral. " 3 2 / 8 bis - central bankers'speeches or better yet, channelling shakespeare, " technology is neither good nor bad, but humans make it so. " 4 this would suggest, for me, that we should avoid fixating on the technology itself, and focus instead on how it is used