In the AI Risk Reward podcast, our host, Alec Crawford (@alec06830), Founder and CEO of Artificial Intelligence Risk, Inc. aicrisk.com , interviews guests about balancing the risk and reward of Artificial Intelligence for you, your business, and society as a whole. Podcast production and sound engineering by Troutman Street Audio. You can find them on LinkedIn.

In this episode, Alec sits down with Professor Agostino Capponi, Director of the Center for Digital Finance and Technologies at Columbia University, to explore the frontiers of AI governance, risk management, and explainability in finance. Professor Capponi outlines the Center’s mission to bridge research, education, and industry in digital finance, including AI, blockchain, and digital payments. The discussion covers emerging frameworks for AI-driven portfolio optimization, model risk, and the importance of transparency and explainability in agentic AI systems. They also address practical challenges like data privacy, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, fairness, and the implications of delegating decision-making to AI agents within financial institutions. The episode concludes with insights on model concentration risk, convergence between AI and blockchain, and the evolving role of boards in AI governance.

Summary:

AI in Finance: Professor Capponi discusses how AI is reshaping portfolio management, risk assessment, and the integration of digital finance technologies.

Explainability & Agentic AI: The conversation highlights agent-based frameworks that deliver transparency and rationales for AI-driven decisions in finance and prediction markets.

Data Privacy & Governance: The episode examines the challenges of data lineage, privacy-preserving techniques, and regulatory implications for financial institutions using AI.

Cybersecurity & Model Validation: Capponi offers perspectives on operational risk, preventing systemic threats, and the need for robust validation and benchmarking of non-deterministic AI models.

Fairness, Regulation & Blockchain: The dialogue explores frameworks for fairness in AI outcomes, the regulatory focus on models versus use cases, and the convergence of AI with blockchain-based payments and governance.

Referenced in this episode:

Companies/Organizations:

Columbia University
Artificial Intelligence Risk, Inc.
Center for Digital Finance and Technologies
Polymarket
S&P 500
Bloomberg
Thomson Reuters
Amazon
Google
Walmart

Deep Dive into AI Governance, Risk Management, and Finance Innovation with Professor Agostino Capponi