The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a dedicated task force to accelerate the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence across the agency, aiming to enhance innovation, operational efficiency, and regulatory capabilities.
Valerie Szczepanik has been appointed as the SEC’s first Chief AI Officer and will lead the task force, according to an announcement.
The move reflects growing momentum among financial regulators to integrate advanced technologies into supervisory and enforcement workflows.
As trading volumes and market data continue to increase, regulators globally are looking to AI tools to improve surveillance, detect anomalies, and process large-scale disclosures more efficiently.
The AI Task Force will coordinate the SEC’s AI-related initiatives across its divisions and offices, aligning development efforts, facilitating internal collaboration, and ensuring governance over AI systems.
The SEC said the task force will help overcome barriers to implementation and focus on applications that offer measurable impact, such as risk analysis, disclosure review, and fraud detection.
In a statement, SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said the agency’s goal is to empower staff with AI-enabled tools that can augment capabilities, accelerate innovation, and enhance the accuracy and efficiency of its work.
“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,” Atkins said.
Szczepanik previously led the SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) and served as Senior Advisor for Digital Assets and Innovation.
She also held positions in the Division of Corporation Finance and the Division of Enforcement and served as a federal prosecutor in New York.
Under her leadership, the task force will work to centralize and align AI efforts across the SEC, including support for ongoing pilot projects and the development of frameworks to ensure trustworthy and effective AI deployment.
“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,” Szczepanik said.
The initiative positions the SEC among a growing group of financial agencies adopting AI to meet evolving demands in market oversight and investor protection.
