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When Polite Refusal is not Enough: AI Safety in the Physical World
A new benchmark of AI-controlled robot arms raises a question that goes beyond chatbot safety: can a system trained to refuse harmful request in words also refuse them in action? The findings suggest a troubling gap. Safe words are not enough.
Stablecoin Dollarization as Exorbitant Privilege 2.0
In reference to Giscard d’Estaing’s original concept “exorbitant privilege 2.0”, a digital extension of US monetary power emerges as a result of the way crypto asset markets are evolving.
When AI Agrees Too Much
Sycophancy and the Future of Human Autonomy Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) now sits in the middle of many human–machine interactions,...
US monetary credibility and crypto flows
The current US executive’s attack on the top officials of the Federal Reserve is a sharp affront to decades of hard-won wisdom in central...
Stablecoins are not robust anchors
Stablecoins are not robust anchors. In volatile financial markets, safety and stability are desirable. Hence, investors seeking refuge from economic...
Embracing individual morality in artificial intelligence
Embracing individual morality in generative artificial intelligence The release of ChatGPT by OpenAI in late 2022 may well have been a tipping point...
Visualising sound waves
The universe is constantly in motion due to vibratory waves, which have been called “music of the universe”. Works by Ximenes visualizes some of these patterns.
Extraordinary bank levies as a charge for extraordinary privileges?
Banks benefit from an extraordinary privilege, which is that governments act as guarantors of last resort for banks’ financial obligations to avoid systemic financial crises. Should banks pay a special tax in return?
Public financial sector guarantees need to be carefully priced
Financial sector guarantees are a key public policy tool All financial claims are risky. Against this background, governments have traditionally...
ChatGPT announcement and Google job search trends
The ChatGPT announcement triggered searches for jobs in functions exploiting artificial intelligence (AI). While it also heighted job security...
Why banks are “special” and does Fintech change that?
Will fintech make banks less “special”? The short answer is no. Banks manage two sets of cash flows – deposits and loans – and provide two key...
Do public venture loans help SMEs grow?
Do public venture loans help overcome the diagnosed financing gap for SMEs in Europe and help them to grow? The preferred policy tool to achieve...
Ending too-big-to-fail: Actions versus words
Are changes in regulation and resolution regimes sufficient to reduce the value of implicit bank debt guarantees? Or are actual losses for bank...