The Bureau of the Fiscal Service hosted an event titled "A Primer on Central Bank Digital Currencies," featuring two distinguished speakers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This session aimed to provide government employees with a foundational understanding of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), their applications, and the growing global interest surrounding them.
The presentation delved into the nature of CBDCs, distinguishing them from everyday digital money, and explored the potential problems they can address alongside the new risks they may introduce. The speakers shared insights from their collaborations with central banks worldwide, discussing various implementations of CBDCs. They emphasized how policy objectives can influence the design of a CBDC and examined how these designs can facilitate trade, enhance financial stability, combat money laundering, and promote financial inclusion.
The event featured Professor Alex 'Sandy' Pentland, director of MIT Connection Science, and Robert Mahari, a joint JD/PhD candidate at Harvard Law School and the MIT Media Lab’s Human Dynamics Group. Professor Pentland is renowned for his contributions to computational science and has advised numerous international organizations. Robert Mahari focuses on leveraging computational legal systems to improve legal processes and access to justice.
This session was specifically designed for federal government employees, offering them a comprehensive introduction to CBDCs to inform future discussions and policy considerations in the realm of digital currencies.
Categories
Speakers(2)
Professor Alex 'Sandy' Pentland
Director at MIT Connection Science
Professor Alex 'Sandy' Pentland directs Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Connection Science, an MIT-wide initiative, and previously helped create and direct the MIT Media Lab and the Media Lab Asia in India. He is one of the most-cited computational scientists in the world, and Forbes declared him one of the '7 most powerful data scientists in the world'. He is an advisor to the United Nations and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and previously to Google, AT&T, and American Bar Association. He has received numerous awards and prizes such as the McKinsey Award from Harvard Business Review, the 40th Anniversary of the Internet from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Brandeis Award for work in privacy. Recent invited keynotes include annual meetings of OECD, G20, World Bank, and JP Morgan.
Robert Mahari
JD/PhD Candidate at Harvard Law School and MIT Media Lab
Robert Mahari is pursuing a joint JD/PhD degree at Harvard Law School and the MIT Media Lab’s Human Dynamics Group. His work focuses particularly on how computational legal systems can increase the efficiency of legal processes and promote access to justice. To this end, Robert leverages tools from machine learning, game theory and network science to research and prototype computational legal solutions in collaboration with private and public entities around the world.
Event Details
- Date
- January 27, 2022
- Location
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Pricing
- Free
- Audience
- Federal Government Employees