The former president of the SEC, Gary Gensler, returns to MIT to focus on AI and finance

After four years of cryptographic regulations and supervision of the financial market, the former president of the United States Stock Exchange and Securities Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, returns to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

According to a statement of January 27 of the University of Research, its approach will now change to artificial intelligence (AI), Fintech, Finance and Public Policies.

Gensler’s new role

“I feel honored to return to MIT, whose faculty, staff and students have long been at the forefront of research and technology,” Gensler saying After your appointment. He added that he hopes to collaborate with the institution’s academics to boost innovation and create a better future through AI, finance and technology.

Before leading the SEC, Gensler worked at Goldman Sachs and then became a teacher at the MIT, where he studied the impact of AI on financial systems and published research on the risks he could represent for global finances.

In his new role, the 67 -year -old player will coordinate the Fintech Ai @Csail initiative together with Professor Andrew W. Lo. This program connects companies with MIT researchers to explore the role of AI in the financial industry.

In addition, the academic will collaborate with the Nobel Prize Simon Johnson to teach a course on economic issues billed as “of great importance for the global economy.”

While Gensler’s new position lacks the regulatory authority that had a financial surveillance head, it is expected to be influential. MIT maintains strong associations with technology signatures and American policy formulators, which could continue to shape discussions about finance, AI and cryptography in academic capacity.

Criticism and concern

However, the return of the former armchair to the institution has not been well received by all. Devin Walsh, executive and co -founder director of the UNISWAP Foundation, condemned The decision, affirming that it was “incredibly embarrassed and disappointed” for the school’s claim of the school.

He stressed that its introduction to cryptography occurred through the MITD Digital Currency initiative (MITDCI), suggesting that any student would be wasting their time, enrollment and energy if they hoped to learn and support new and innovative technologies.

During his mandate in the SEC, Gensler shapes cryptographic policy through a compliance regulation approach. Under its leadership, the agency initiated more than 125 application actions against cryptographic companies, classifying many cryptocurrencies, except for Bitcoin and Ethereum, as values ​​and, therefore, fall under the scope of the regulator.

Their actions received many criticisms from the industry, and some said that they suffocated innovation and created regulatory uncertainty. However, one of the bright lights of his reign was last year’s approval of funds quoted in exchange (ETF) that tracks Bitcoin and Ethereum.