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Pictured (left to right): Sheena Jacob, Phoram Mehta, Ayesha Khanna, Matt Heimer

In an era where AI is rapidly transforming every facet of our lives, the inaugural Fortune Brainstorm AI conference in Singapore provided a crucial platform to explore its far-reaching implications on business, society, and global order. PayPal hosted a roundtable discussion which delved into the need to strike a balance between pursuing growth from AI innovation on one hand, while doing so responsibly and securely on the other.

Distinguished panelists Sheena Jacob, Partner and Head of Intellectual Property at legal firm CMS Holborn Asia, and Ayesha Khanna, Co-founder and CEO of AI consultancy Addo AI, joined Phoram Mehta, Asia Pacific Chief Information Security Officer at PayPal, for the discussion moderated by Fortune’s Matt Heimer.

Redefining payments in the age of AI

A central theme of the discussion was the transformative and wide-ranging impact of AI. Building on Ayesha’s observation that AI is enhancing productivity across the enterprise landscape, Phoram noted that this is no different in payments: “AI challenges our traditional notions of payments, enabling us to think beyond just online transactions to more personalized, real-time decisions driven by data.”

In cybersecurity, Phoram emphasized AI's role in bolstering defenses against evolving threats, and its potential as a competitive differentiator. “The AI and machine learning models we’ve invested in to make risk-based authentication decisions, which we’ve built over a decade, are the reason we have industry-leading loss rates.”

At the same time, it’s also crucial to be realistic about the likelihood of facing a cybersecurity incident, and build resilience into the process. Phoram pointed out that “it’s not an if, it’s when. Everyone is going to make a mistake at some point, so how good a feedback loop a company can create will define how successful they are.”

Navigating a complex landscape of regulations and ethics

The recognition of these responsibilities has prompted an ongoing evolution in global and regional regulatory frameworks. Sheena warned that a “tsunami of laws” will be coming into effect across the world, placing the onus on businesses to stay ahead of compliance requirements.

Unlike previous technological shifts, such as the rise of the Internet, mobile phones, or social media, industry players are addressing the need for regulatory guardrails much earlier with AI. Pointing out that the embedded nature of AI means rolling back an AI-enabled initiative is not easily done, Phoram highlighted the importance of discussing guardrails from the outset. “Concepts like privacy by design and security by design are now integral to our development processes. We are already talking about governance and ethical frameworks, recognizing our responsibilities early on,” Phoram noted.

Phoram also noted that while the ethical dimensions of AI are complex, achieving absolute perfection in ethical AI decision-making is neither feasible nor a realistic objective. “In addition to relying solely on human judgment, we need to create systems that can learn and improve over time. This means finding the right balance between human values like fairness and empathy, and the efficiency of AI.”

Watch the full discussion on demand

The roundtable discussion at Fortune Brainstorm AI Singapore 2024 provided valuable insights into how AI is reshaping various aspects of our world. As we navigate this rapidly evolving landscape, the discussion highlighted the importance of balancing innovation with ethical and regulatory considerations. To explore these further, you can view the full session on demand here.