The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced it has appointed Dr Ted Kaouk as the agency’s first Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer.

Kaouk recently held the position of the CFTC’s Chief Data Officer and Director of the Division of Data, and his new title is Chief Data and AI Officer.

In this capacity, he will spearhead the formulation of the CFTC’s overarching strategy concerning enterprise data and AI, fortifying the agency’s endeavors to bolster its data-centric capabilities, the CFTC said.

AI and innovative financial markets

“As one of my top priorities, the CFTC has been deeply engaged in efforts to deploy an enterprise data and artificial intelligence strategy to modernize staff skillsets, instill a data-driven culture, and begin to leverage the efficiencies of AI as an innovative financial markets regulator,” said Chairman Rostin Behnam in making the announcement.

In March, testifying before the House Agriculture Committee, Behnam told lawmakers that the CFTC has also been gathering information to better understand how AI is being used in the derivatives markets it regulates, noting that it’s mostly being used by larger financial institutions right now.

White House directive

The designation is a product of a directive from The White House in late March that all federal agencies must name chief artificial intelligence officers to oversee the federal government’s various approaches to AI and manage the risks that the rapidly evolving technologies might pose.

In February, the Department of Justice (DOJ) named its first artificial intelligence officer, Jonathan Mayer, a Princeton University assistant professor who focuses on national security, consumer privacy and criminal procedures, for the role.

Mayer will work on intra-departmental and cross-agency efforts on AI and adjacent issues and lead the Justice Department’s newly established Emerging Technology Board, which coordinates and governs AI and other emerging technologies across the DOJ.

The House Financial Services Committee launched a bipartisan working group in January to examine how AI is affecting the financial services and housing industries.

And, last October, the Biden Administration issued a sweeping AI executive order designed to ensure US agencies keep up with the changes in the field of artificial intelligence and strategically compete globally in this arena.