Fed's Waller Compares FRED Data Platform to AI at St. Louis Conference
Governor Christopher Waller addressed FRED Con 2026 in St. Louis, framing the Fed's data platform as a counterweight to AI-driven information.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller took center stage at FRED Con 2026 in St. Louis, Missouri, delivering a speech that cast the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's flagship economic data platform, FRED, as a formidable force in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. The event, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, focused on trust, AI, and data storytelling.
Waller's remarks — titled "The Data Version of Godzilla versus Kong: FRED Takes on AI" — used the cinematic metaphor of two titans clashing to frame the tension between established, institutionally curated data repositories and the rapid rise of AI-generated analysis and content. The speech placed FRED in the role of a trusted, battle-tested heavyweight facing a powerful but unpredictable challenger.
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The broader context of the address reflects growing concern among policymakers and economists about how artificial intelligence tools are reshaping the way data is accessed, interpreted, and communicated to the public. For the Fed, which relies heavily on transparent data dissemination to inform markets and the public, the integrity of platforms like FRED carries significant institutional weight.
FRED, which stands for Federal Reserve Economic Data, hosts hundreds of thousands of economic time series and serves as a primary reference tool for researchers, journalists, and policymakers worldwide. Waller's framing suggests Fed officials are actively thinking about how AI interacts with — and potentially competes with — such authoritative public data infrastructure.
The speech underscores a widening policy conversation about AI's role in economic analysis and the responsibility of public institutions to maintain reliable, accessible data as a check on algorithmically generated information. Continue reading at FRB: Speeches.
