Should Central Banks Care About Artificial Intelligence? A Review of the Literature

Ngunza Maniata, Kevin and Pinshi, Christian P. (2026): Should Central Banks Care About Artificial Intelligence? A Review of the Literature.

Abstract

This article provides a structured review of the rapidly growing literature on the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for central banking and proposes an organizing taxonomy of the main macro-financial and institutional channels discussed in recent contributions. As a general-purpose technology, AI has the potential to influence productivity growth, price-setting behavior, inflation dynamics, and the transmission of monetary policy, while its diffusion in the financial system may introduce new sources of systemic risk through algorithmic coordination, model opacity, and cyber vulnerabilities. The article synthesizes recent contributions from international financial institutions and academic research to organize these channels within a coherent macro-financial framework. It also reviews documented applications of AI within central banks, including macroeconomic forecasting and nowcasting, supervisory technology, payments oversight, and internal information processing. Attention is given to the emerging literature on African central banks and other emerging market economies, where AI offers opportunities to alleviate data constraints but also raises challenges related to skills, infrastructure, and governance. By organizing and critically assessing existing evidence, the article clarifies why AI constitutes a structural issue for central banking and identifies key areas for future research on monetary and financial stability.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Central banks; Monetary policy; Financial stability; Emerging markets.
• Subjects: E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E3 - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles > E31 - Price Level ; Inflation ; Deflation; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E5 - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit > E52 - Monetary Policy; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E5 - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit > E58 - Central Banks and Their Policies; G - Financial Economics > G0 - General > G01 - Financial Crises; G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G28 - Government Policy and Regulation; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences ; Diffusion Processes; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies > O55 - Africa

References

Aldasoro, I., Doerr, S., Gambacorta, L., & Rees, D. (2024). The impact of artificial intelligence on output and inflation (BIS Working Paper No. 1179). Bank for International Settlements. https://www.bis.org/publ/work1179.htm

Aldasoro, I., Doerr, S., Gambacorta, L., & Tissot, B. (2024). Artificial intelligence in central banking (BIS Bulletin No. 84). Bank for International Settlements. https://www.bis.org/publ/bisbull84.htm

Aldasoro, I., Doerr, S., Gambacorta, L., & Whyte, D. (2025). Generative artificial intelligence and cybersecurity in central banking. Journal of Financial Regulation, 11(1), 119–128. https://doi.org/10.1093/jfr/fjad009

Aruoba, S. B., & Drechsel, T. (2024). Identifying monetary policy shocks: A natural language approach (NBER Working Paper No. 32417). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w32417

Bains, P., Conde, G., Ravikumar, R., & Sonbul Iskender, E. (2025). AI projects in financial supervisory authorities: Toolkit for a successful implementation (IMF Working Paper No. 25/199). International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400275605.001

Bank for International Settlements. (2020). Central banks and payments in the digital era. In BIS Annual Economic Report 2020 (Ch. III). https://www.bis.org/publ/arpdf/ar2020e3.htm

Bank for International Settlements. (2024). Artificial intelligence and the economy: Implications for central banks. In BIS Annual Economic Report 2024 (Ch. III). https://www.bis.org/publ/arpdf/ar2024e3.htm

Bank for International Settlements. (2025). The use of artificial intelligence for policy purposes (Other Publications No. 100). G20 Report. https://www.bis.org/publ/othp100.htm

Basso, H. S., & Rachedi, O. (2025). Robot adoption and inflation dynamics. Journal of Monetary Economics, 156, 103856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoneco.2024.103856

Brollo, F., Dabla-Norris, E., de Mooij, R., Garcia-Macia, D., Hanappi, T., Liu, Y., & Nguyen, A. (2024). Broadening the gains from generative AI: The role of fiscal policies (IMF Staff Discussion Note No. 2024/002). International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400245602.006

Brynjolfsson, E., Li, D., & Raymond, L. (2023). Generative AI at work (NBER Working Paper No. 31161). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w31161

Cazzaniga, M., Jaumotte, F., Li, L., Melina, G., Panton, A., & Seneviratne, D. (2024). Gen-AI: Artificial intelligence and the future of work (IMF Staff Discussion Note No. 2024/001). International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513511793.006

European Central Bank. (2024, July 4). Artificial intelligence: A central bank’s view [Speech by Piero Cipollone]. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2024/html/ecb.sp240704_1~e348c05894.en.html

European Systemic Risk Board – Advisory Scientific Committee. (2025). Artificial intelligence and systemic risk (ESRB ASC Report No. 16). https://www.esrb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/asc/esrb.asc240122_report_16~7e04cf8f89.en.pdf

Financial Stability Board. (2023). The financial stability implications of artificial intelligence and machine learning. https://www.fsb.org/2023/11/fsb-report-ai-ml-financial-stability/

Hartmann, P., & Maver, V. (2025). Implications of artificial intelligence for monetary policy – A first conceptual assessment (SUERF Policy Brief No. 1080). https://www.suerf.org/suer-policy-brief/implications-of-artificial-intelligence-for-monetary-policy-a-first-conceptual-assessment/

International Monetary Fund. (2024). Advances in artificial intelligence: Implications for capital market activities. In Global Financial Stability Report, October 2024 (Ch. 3). https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/GFSR/Issues/2024/10/12/global-financial-stability-report-october-2024

International Monetary Fund. (2025). Digital payment innovations in sub-Saharan Africa (IMF Departmental Paper No. 25/004). https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400226861.087

Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics. (2025). Governance and implementation of artificial intelligence in central banks: 2024 survey (IFC Report No. 18). Bank for International Settlements. https://www.bis.org/ifc/publ/IFC_Report_18.pdf

Ngunza Maniata, K. (2025). Does the rise of Anthropic signal a sustainable AI economy or another technological bubble? Munich Personal RePEc Archive (MPRA Paper No. 126512). https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/126512/

OECD. (2025). Harnessing AI in finance for financial inclusion in Africa. In Africa Capital Markets Report 2025 (Ch. 7). https://www.oecd.org/africa-capital-markets-report-2025/

Vuković, D. B., Dekpo-Adza, S., & Matović, S. (2025). AI integration in financial services: A systematic review of trends and regulatory challenges. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12, Article 562. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04850-8

World Bank. (2021). Harnessing artificial intelligence for development in the post-COVID-19 era: A review of national AI strategies and policies. World Bank Group. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35605

African Development Bank. (2021). African Economic Outlook 2021: From Debt Resolution to Growth – The Road Ahead for Africa. AfDB Group. https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/african-economic-outlook-2021