The Bank of England has announced plans to review existing regulatory frameworks for agentic artificial intelligence (AI) used in financial markets. The move comes amid concerns that current rules may not be sufficient to govern the use of these agents, which can act independently and make decisions without direct human instruction.
Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden highlighted this issue during a speech at the European Central Bank Forum on central banking. She noted that existing regulatory frameworks were designed for traditional AI systems that require guidance from humans before making decisions, but not for agentic AI that operates autonomously.
The Bank of England's review is part of its ongoing efforts to develop new regulations for AI in finance. The agency has emphasized the need for clearer guidelines on how to handle situations where AI agents make decisions without human oversight. This includes questions about liability and accountability when errors or unethical behavior occur. As the use of agentic AI continues to grow, it remains to be seen whether existing rules can keep pace with the evolving technology.