The final panel, moderated by Bayan Bruss of Capital One, focused on the “Future of AI and Fintech” and featured academic researchers from Columbia Engineering, the University of Texas at Austin, and Brown University. Their conversation explored the integration of quantum computing and AI into financial services, including the current limitations and potential of these technologies.

“In terms of where we’re at with quantum computing, things are very early-stage,” said Henry Yuen, Srivani Family Associate Professor of Computer Science at Columbia Engineering. “There’s a lot of fundamental research to be done. If we build these machines, what are we going to use them for?”

The panel agreed that significant theoretical and practical advancements are needed before it can revolutionize finance, particularly in the areas of scalability and reliability. 

“We had a fantastic lineup of speakers,” said Capponi, closing out the day’s agenda. “It’s a very good example of the mix between academia and industry. We all learn from each other. I’ve seen interactive discussions with people that hopefully will lead to further ideas.” 

Prem Natarajan, chief scientist and head of Enterprise AI at Capital One, also praised the breadth of expertise among the participants.  

“We value gatherings like this to foster discussion and potential collaborative ideas,” said Natarajan. “Successfully maximizing the broad benefits of AI  will require interdisciplinary collaboration, combining expertise from academia's research capabilities with industry's infrastructure and data resources. The breakthroughs of the future will come out of such partnerships.”

Lead Photo Caption: From left to right: Bayan Bruss, VP, Applied AI Research at Capital One, Atlas Wang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, UT Austin, Henry Yuen, Srivani Family Associate Professor of Computer Science, Columbia Engineering, Randall Balestriero, assistant professor of computer science, Brown University