Being part of almost every conversation at this week's meeting of the global central bankers was one big unknown: How artificial intelligence will impact the world economy and therefore their mandate to ensure financial stability.
The consensus of those discussions at the European Central Bank's (ECB) annual conference in the windy hills of Portugal was that AI has the power to disrupt everything and create problems they can't even imagine right now: in financial and labor markets, in bank lending, for security, and even for power demand.
"If AI overdelivers, it will impact financial stability. If AI underdelivers, it will impact financial stability," Torsten Slok at Apollo Global Management told the arbiters of interest rates around the world at one of the main panel sessions in the resort of Sintra.
AI was such an overarching theme in Sintra that the topic found its way into every discussion, from immigration and supervision to climate.
It even outdid new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, making his debut meeting with fellow central bankers, as the clear star of the three-day show.
