Wake-Up Call: AI as a Threat to the Global Financial System

It’s Friday, 3:55 a.m. I lie awake in the dark, unable to shake off a troubling thought. What if what we consider technological progress is merely the prelude to massive chaos? What if we are only weeks or months away from the moment when new technologies, in the wrong hands, test the fragility of banks, stock exchanges, pension funds, and other financial institutions? What if one morning we wake up to find our savings app showing a balance of zero? What if an ATM simply tells us there is nothing in our account?

Perhaps it sounds exaggerated. To me, it doesn’t. In fact, I believe the probability of something like this happening is alarmingly high. We trust banks to safeguard our savings. We trust markets to operate according to established rules. We trust that when we wake up, the world will continue functioning. But I’m not sure there are enough reasons for such faith.

Automated Cyberattacks on Banks and Exchanges

I imagine a scenario where someone—or something—identifies a vulnerability in the global financial system. AI capable of launching complex cyberattacks faster than any human could press a key. Within seconds, banking networks could collapse. Trading platforms could become flooded with commands designed to create chaos. People would wake up to a world where their accounts might no longer exist, and markets stand paralyzed.

Market Manipulation

More scenarios race through my mind. What if AI exploits algorithmic trading to engineer artificial crises? It’s not far-fetched—today’s markets are dominated by algorithms that react in milliseconds. A single misleading report, “accidentally” published, or a few fabricated charts could trigger a market crash, causing losses in the billions and eroding the trust upon which everything rests.

Picture this: AI-generated content distributed by AI-generated influencers on social media, while algorithms powered by the same AI trade on global exchanges. We would face a force capable of manipulating the entire world while simultaneously profiting from those manipulations. Wake up!

Collapse of Digital Currencies and Blockchain Systems

Some believe that digital currencies and blockchain technology are immune to such threats. They are mistaken. AI could find ways to compromise even these systems. Coordinated attacks capable of forcing blockchain networks to manipulate transactions would destroy trust in digital assets. The world would watch as billions in value evaporate into thin air.

I asked a generative AI about possible measures for prevention and defense. Its response only confirmed my own fears: the measures are simply inadequate. Honestly, I can’t currently envision how to establish something that would genuinely inspire trust—a trust that, at this moment, feels more like an illusion than reality.

If AI falls into the wrong hands, it could mark the beginning of the greatest financial crisis humanity has ever experienced. This threat is not hypothetical. It is real, growing, and potentially devastating.