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51茶馆儿鈥檚 annual Adirondack Trust Lecture on Finance returned to consider the expanding role of artificial intelligence in financial systems.  

This year鈥檚 speaker, Irene Aldridge, is a quantitative researcher and entrepreneur who teaches in the Financial Engineering program at Cornell University and in Cambridge University鈥檚 Master of Finance program.  

With a background that bridges industry and academia, Aldridge offered a wide-ranging overview of how AI is shaping 鈥� and reshaping 鈥� financial markets.   

Her April 7 talk, 鈥淎I in Finance: Progress and Opportunities,鈥� opened with a simple statement that grounded the discussion: 鈥淎I may seem a little supernatural, but it鈥檚 really just a bunch of math.鈥� 

From there, Aldridge explored the building blocks of AI models 51茶馆儿� from supervised learning systems to deep neural networks 51茶馆儿� and how they are used to detect patterns, manage risk, and generate insights in the financial world. If intelligently regulated, she argues that AI trading can reduce costs, improve liquidity, reduce volatility, and make the benefits of automated trading available to more people. 

Aldridge highlighted several ways artificial intelligence is already influencing financial practice, from day-to-day decision-making to long-term forecasting. AI systems are being used to process large volumes of market data, automate trades, and model risk scenarios that would be difficult 鈥� or even impossible 鈥� for humans to do on their own.  

While much of the talk focused on mathematical models and technical foundations, Aldridge also underscored the ethical dimensions of AI.  

鈥淎t present, someone still needs to be at the top making decisions,鈥� she said, pointing to the ongoing need for human responsibility and oversight in AI-driven systems. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 something that鈥檚 here to stay.鈥� 

The Adirondack Trust Lecture in Finance is made possible through the support of the Adirondack Trust Company and the Wait family.  

Mayor John Safford, the Wait family, and members of the Adirondack Trust board of directors were among many Saratoga Springs community members to attend the lecture.  

President Marc Conner thanked Charles V. Wait Sr., Charles V. Wait Jr., Candace Wait, and Adirondack Trust Co. for establishing and endowing the series.  

鈥淭his event is indeed a story of College and community partnership,鈥� Conner said. 鈥淭he Wait family and Adirondack Trust have been an integral part of Skidmore鈥檚 history and success for over a century 鈥� We thank Adirondack Trust for support of programs that embody why the Skidmore education is the model for liberal arts colleges in the 21st century.鈥�  

In his remarks, David Cohen, associate professor and chair of the Management and Business Department, spoke to the importance of studying finance within the framework of the liberal arts 51茶馆儿� a hallmark of the business program at Skidmore.  

鈥淚n the 21st century, business and finance aren鈥檛 just about numbers and markets,鈥� Cohen said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e about the most powerful forces shaping our lives.鈥�