FCA two-day artificial intelligence (AI) Sprint

In January 2025, the FCA hosted a two-day artificial intelligence (AI) Sprint. The FCA AI Sprint brought together industry experts to explore AI’s growing impact on UK financial services.

Click below to find out how FCA is using feedback from this event and how FCA wants to continue working together.

• https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/corporate-documents/ai-sprint-summary

Here’s what stood out from the Sprint event.

1. TRUST - Trust in AI is like trying to build a house from the roof down – you need solid foundations first. Neither the FCA nor firms can establish this trust alone, but together, the FCA can create the environment needed for AI to flourish.
2. Firms aren’t looking for more regulation; they want clarity on existing rules.
1. They’re eager to innovate but need to understand how current frameworks apply to AI. The FCA is of one mind regarding this.
2. As the FCA chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, explained in his letter to the Prime Minister, the FCA want to use its existing outcomes-based frameworks as much as possible.
3. The FCA is not looking to create new regulations for AI within financial services.
4. The FCA want to make the ones the FCA already have work for this burgeoning sector. 
3. Finally, the future challenges aren’t what I expected. Yes, everyone thinks about AI bias, but the conversations about ‘unknown unknowns’ are fascinating.
1. What happens when AI makes impersonation scams more sophisticated?
2. How does the FCA ensure that AI data centres are sustainable?
3. These are the questions keeping practitioners up at night.

Why this matters

1. The UK has unique advantages in AI innovation – a robust regulatory framework, world-class talent, and sophisticated financial markets.
2. The FCA is perfectly positioned, but innovation must be balanced with consumer protection.
3. Sprint participants discussed current AI use cases that could help customers better manage personal loans while still being able to save. I saw a glimpse of the FCA's future, where AI innovation drives growth and better consumer outcomes.

Where do the FCA go from here?

4. The FCA is working through all the feedback from the Sprint and other parts of the AI Lab, such as the FCA AI Spotlight event.
5. The FCA will consider how best to enhance trust, clarify the FCA rules, and prepare for the ‘unknown unknowns.
6. The FCA is taking concrete steps straight away to support safe, growth-focused innovation:
   • Expanding the FCA AI Lab and Supercharged Sandbox to accelerate innovation.
   • Working with the Synthetic Data Expert Group to enable safe testing of new ideas.
   • Holding a roundtable with the ICO on 9 May 2025 to discuss with industry leaders the challenges and opportunities they face regarding AI adoption and wider innovation.

Sourced from

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/blogs/ai-through-different-lens-what-115-experts-taught-us-about-ai-innovation