In the AI: Trust but Verify podcast, our host, Alec Crawford (@alec06830), Founder and CEO of Verapath (https://www.verapath.com), interviews guests about how they are using AI in business, where you can trust AI, and where you need to put up guard rails.

In this episode of AI: Trust but Verify, Alec Crawford speaks with David Hardoon, former Global Head of AI at Standard Chartered Bank and the first Chief Data Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. With more than two decades of experience spanning AI research, financial services, regulation, and enterprise transformation, David shares practical insights on what it takes to operationalize AI at scale. The conversation explores how AI is reshaping banking, cybersecurity, and regulation, why governance should accelerate rather than hinder innovation, and why organizations must move from static controls to continuous learning and verification as AI capabilities rapidly evolve.

Takeaways

• Governance enables innovation. Principle-based, risk-based AI governance creates trust and accelerates adoption rather than slowing it down.
• Trust AI—but continuously verify it. AI systems should be monitored and validated continuously as models, risks, and business environments change.
• Banks need a new operating model. The era of "deploy and forget" is over; AI requires continuous adaptation, faster cybersecurity responses, and ongoing process improvement.
• AI is transforming cybersecurity. Frontier models are dramatically increasing both attackers' capabilities and defenders' tools, making resilience and rapid response more important than ever.
• The greatest value of AI is augmenting people. Beyond automation, AI empowers individuals and organizations to communicate better, solve harder problems, and unlock entirely new ways of working.

Resources

• David Hardoon – https://www.davidroyhardoon.com/
• David Hardoon on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidhardoon/
• The AI Failure Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Screwing Up Your AI Transformation (David Hardoon) – https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+AI+Failure+Handbook+David+Hardoon
• Standard Chartered – https://www.sc.com/
• Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) – FEAT Principles for Fairness, Ethics, Accountability and Transparency in AI – https://www.mas.gov.sg/