# Treasury’s AI Innovation Series — Failure to Adopt Framed as Risk

Times of AI Desk · 2026-03-23 · Policy

[https://timesof.ai/2026/03/us-treasury-launches-ai-innovation-series](https://timesof.ai/2026/03/us-treasury-launches-ai-innovation-series)

> U.S. Treasury and FSOC launched the AI Innovation Series (March 23): four public-private roundtables on scaling AI in finance with governance and resilience. First roundtable March 4 on strategy/governance. Bessent: move from constraint posture toward treating non-adoption of productivity tech as its own risk — EO 14179 / AI Action Plan implementation theater, not a rule.

Regulators usually lead with constraint. Treasury’s proprietary sentence: **failure to adopt productivity-enhancing AI is itself a stability risk** — the Innovation Series is the forum to operationalize that flip, not a new capital rule.

**U.S. Treasury** and the **Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC)** Office, with Treasury’s **Artificial Intelligence Transformation Office (AITO)**, launched the **AI Innovation Series** (March 23): four roundtables convening banks, tech firms, regulators, and experts on high-value finance use cases (fraud, cybersecurity, credit underwriting, operational risk) and how to scale them while preserving safety and soundness. First roundtable held **March 4** on AI strategy and governance. Framed as supporting **Executive Order 14179** (“Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence”) and the Administration’s AI Action Plan.

Secretary **Scott Bessent**: economic security via resilient domestic capacity; “moving from a posture focused on constraint toward one that recognizes failure to adopt productivity-enhancing technology as its own risk.” DAS for FSOC **Christina Skinner**: AI adoption as precondition to growth and stability. Chief AI Officer **Paras Malik**: priority is operationalization into core workflows that measurably enhance risk management.

## Claims vs checks

Launch facts and quotes are **Treasury primary** (press release sb0421). Series outputs will be insights, not binding guidance, unless later translated into FSOC/agency action. EO 14179 linkage is administration framing.

## Limits

- Roundtables ≠ examination manuals or capital treatment.
- Industry participants self-select; consensus may skew optimistic.
- Outcomes depend on subsequent Treasury/FSOC write-ups.

## Sources

- [U.S. Treasury: “Treasury Launches the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Innovation Series”](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0421) (March 23, 2026).
- Statements from Secretary Scott Bessent, DAS Christina Skinner, and Chief AI Officer Paras Malik.
- References to Executive Order 14179 and the Administration’s AI Action Plan.