Thought Leadership

Building Resilience in the Age of AI

Thought Leadership

Professor Jungpil Hahn, Director of the NUS FinTech Lab, joined a panel on “Building Resilience in the Age of AI” at A*STAR’s Singapore Scientific Conference.

The discussion centred on a critical shift: AI is no longer just a tool — it is becoming a cognitive environment. That transformation brings extraordinary opportunities, but also new forms of vulnerability in trust, identity, emotional wellbeing, and information integrity.

Key themes explored:

  • The overlooked psychological risks of AI companions,
  • How we should rethink trust when hyper-realistic deepfakes become pervasive,
  • The next wave of AI-enabled scams and harms frontline officers must prepare for,
  • What long-term research is needed to strengthen societal and informational resilience, and
  • How Singapore can build the “authenticity infrastructure” required for a safe digital future.

Resilience is no longer about detecting threats; it’s about redesigning our norms, institutions, and verification habits to ensure trust remains stable even in a synthetic world.

Insights from Melbourne: AI Governance, Higher Education, and Organizational Design

Thought Leadership

Prof Hahn Jungpil recently returned from Melbourne after participating in the International AI Cooperation and Governance Forum (IAICGF) and delivering a research talk at the University of Melbourne’s School of Computing and Information Systems. The trip offered a valuable lens into how different ecosystems approach AI innovation, governance, and institutional change.

At IAICGF, Prof Hahn joined a panel on “The University Disrupted: AI’s Impact on Knowledge Work & Tertiary Education.” The discussion spotlighted a pressing question: as AI reshapes professional pathways and reduces entry-level knowledge work, how should universities rethink their purpose? Prof Hahn emphasized that higher education must evolve beyond employability as its core value proposition. In an era of volatile job roles and accelerating automation, universities should prioritize capability formation—judgment, systems thinking, responsible AI fluency, and purpose development. Employability should emerge as a by-product of these deeper competencies rather than the anchor of the university mission.

During the visit, Prof Hahn also presented new joint work with Junjie Zhou on “The Structural Pitfalls of Processing AI-generated Information.” The study explores an emerging AI performance paradox: how organizational structures intended to reduce decision errors can inadvertently amplify failures when interacting with human biases toward or against algorithms. Simulation results show that hierarchical, polyarchical, and hybrid validation structures not only filter errors differently but also shape long-term attitudes toward AI within organizations.

Engagements with faculty, doctoral students, and visiting academics—including Professor Xavier Castañer—sparked wide-ranging discussions on organizational design, strategy, and academic relevance in the age of AI. The trip underscored how a change in environment can expand perspectives and catalyze new research directions.

Prof Hahn returns to Singapore with fresh insights and ideas that will inform upcoming work on AI governance, organizational design, and the future of higher education.

Agentic AI in Quant Finance: Finding Alpha in a Market of Machines

Thought Leadership

Professor Jungpil Hahn, Director of the NUS FinTech Lab, spoke at the UBS Quant, Evidence Lab and HOLT Conference, an extraordinary gathering of institutional investors and quantitative researchers shaping the future of finance.

The talk, “Agentic AI in Quant Finance: Finding Alpha in a Market of Machines,” explored how self-directed, continuously learning AI systems are redefining alpha generation and the new strategic and systemic questions they raise when algorithms start trading with algorithms.

Three fronts of opportunity were discussed:

  • Autonomous signal discovery and strategy evolution
  • Adaptive execution in dynamic markets
  • Governance as the new alpha-preservation edge

As AI systems grow more agentic, the challenge for investors isn’t just to deploy faster models; it’s to design for emergence and govern for trust. The firms that master that balance will lead the next phase of quantitative finance.

The Legal Profession and the Ethics of Generative AI

Thought Leadership

Professor Jungpil Hahn, Director of the NUS FinTech Lab, shared his perspectives at the Council of Judges of the Supreme Court of Singapore on “The Legal Profession and the Ethics of Generative AI”. Generative AI isn’t just changing how we work; it’s changing how we learn, reason, and grow as professionals.

He discussed how:

  • AI is compressing judgment; shifting lawyers from producing to validating reasoning.
  • The legal profession, built on language and precedent, is ground zero for this cognitive transformation.
  • The hidden cost of efficiency may be the erosion of apprenticeship; when junior lawyers no longer “learn by drafting”, the entire pipeline of expertise is at risk.
  • Ethics in the age of AI is less about compliance, and more about stewardship; how to preserve human judgment amid automation.

It is worth thinking about how people can balance innovation with integrity, and ensure that AI augments, not erodes, the human foundations of justice.

UBRI Connect 2025 & APEX 2025

Thought Leadership

Excited to share/reflecting on NUS FinTech Lab collaboration with Ripple for UBRIConnect and participation at APEX
A. UBRI Connect at NUS Computing (10 June)
1. Opening Panel session on Web3 x Asset Tokenization with co-panelists: @ Aaron Gwak from Libeara, Alvin Chia, PhD Chia from Northern Trust, Evy Theunis from DBS Bank, and Rajesh Sreenivasan from Rajah & Tann Asia, moderated by Jungpil Hahn from NUS FinTech Lab
2. Project Demo/sharing by Hao Zhu, Research Assistant, NUS FinTech Lab on Reg-Guru: AI-Powered Regulatory Compliance: A RAG-Enhanced Assistant for Financial Institutions
3. NUS FinTech Lab was awarded UBRI Maverick Award 2025 for recognizing its exceptional contributions to FinTech education, research, and global collaboration. The award is part of the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI)—a global program launched by Ripple that supports academic institutions advancing innovation in blockchain and FinTech through research, curriculum development, and industry partnerships.

The UBRI network spans over 60 universities across 28 countries, united by a shared commitment to these goals. Each year, member institutions come together at UBRI Connect—a global conference that serves as a platform to present their latest research, share insights, and foster collaboration across the UBRI community.

B. APEX 2025 at Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore (11-12 June)
4. Panel discussion on AI in Financial Services: Who Controls It, Who Benefits, and Who Sets the Rules? With co-panelists Christian Nunez from AnChain.AI.AI, and Prof. Yuichi Ikeda from Kyoto University, moderated by Jungpil Hahn from NUS FinTech Lab
5. Lightning Talk and sharing by Ong Si Hui, student intern from NUS FinTech Lab on Hybrid Security Architecture for Securing Centralized Exchanges: Lessons from the Bybit Breach
6. Academic Innovation sharing by Reshma Balaraman, Research Associate NUS FinTech Lab Lab on NUSwap: Unveiling Trading Behavior Through Data-Driven Insights
7. XRPL Commons Academic Breakfast sharing from Karin H. Bauer, PhD from University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Jungpil Hahn from NUS FinTech Lab, Ikhlaq Sidhu from IE University, Ali Emdad from Morgan State University, Leid Zejnilovic from Nova School of Business and Economics and Dr. Vera Radeva Hadjieva from XRPL Commons
8. Brief appearance at the CoinDesk livestream at APEX 2025 by Jungpil Hahn, discussing the exciting intersection of fintech, blockchain, and academia, and offering perspectives on technological disruptions, their complex unintended consequences, the pace of innovation, and effective governance.

Big thanks and grateful to Ripple for curating this truly global, high-conviction gathering of senior leaders, builders, regulators, and innovators.

UBRIConnect and APEX continue to raise the bar each year. See you next year!

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AI in Financial Services: Who Controls It, Who Benefits, and Who Sets the Rules?

Thought Leadership

Excited to share that Professor Jungpil Hahn, Director of the NUS FinTech Lab, will be moderating the AI panel at the APEX2025 hosted by Ripple at Raffles City Convention Centre – Fairmont Ballroom on Wednesday, 11 June at 16:30 PM.

Panel Theme:
AI in Financial Services: Who Controls It, Who Benefits, and Who Sets the Rules?

Joining him on stage:
Christian Nunez – Head of partnerships AnChain.AI
Professor Yuichi Ikeda – Kyoto University

Grateful to Ripple for creating a global forum to exchange bold ideas, challenge the status quo, and engage with the global community that’s redefining the future of finance and technology.

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Web3 & Tokenization – Redefining Identity, Finance, and Asset Liquidity in the Digital Economy

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Excited to share that Professor Jungpil Hahn, Director of the NUS FinTech Lab, will be moderating the opening panel at the UBRIConnect 2025 Pre-Summit, hosted by Ripple at NUS Computing (COM-3 MPSH), on Tuesday, 10 June at 11:20 AM.

Panel Topic: Web3 & Tokenization – Redefining Identity, Finance, and Asset Liquidity in the Digital Economy

Joining him on stage:
Aaron Gwak – CEO & Founder, Libeara
Alvin Chia, PhD Chia – Head of Digital Asset Innovation, APAC, Northern Trust
Evy Theunis – Head of Digital Assets, Institutional Banking Group, DBS
Rajesh Sreenivasan – Head of TMT Law, Rajah & Tann LLP

This gathering brings together researchers, academics, and industry leaders to explore blockchain innovation, education, and impact. Looking forward to sharing insights and learning from this incredible global community.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in person soon!

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NUS FinTech Lab Innovation Lab Crawl 2024

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A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made Lab Crawl 2024 a success!

We’re grateful to our panel speakers, Thorsten Neumann (龚拓思), Tech Lead at SC Ventures by Standard Chartered, and Victor Ng, Adjunct Lecturer at NUS Computing, for sharing their invaluable insights during our Lab Crawl 2024. Special thanks to Dr. Nicholas MacGregor Garcia, Co-Director of NUS FinTech Lab, for kicking off the plenary session with a short introduction to NUS FinTech Lab and NUS Fintech Society and for moderating the panel session.

We’re also proud to celebrate the innovative spirit of our students, who showcased their projects that highlight the potential of fintech and technology. Key projects included:
1.     NUSwap – A simulated trading platform by Valencia Lim
2.     Large Value Payment System Simulation – By Kenneth See, FCCA
3.     DeepShield – Countering deepfake technology, by Xuyan Zhou
4.     Fractionate Real Estate Tokenization – By Hong Sheng Loy & Low Jian Cheng
5.     Lenor AI Financial Literacy – By Harry W.
6.     Ordinal Synthetic Market Bridge ERC20 – By Wei Rong
7.     Verifin – Securing blockchain transactions with recipient identity, by Songyue (Songyue Wang, represented by Xuyan Zhou)

The session brought valuable insights into the current challenges, risks, and opportunities shaping fintech:
1. Tokenization Redefines Money
– Tokenization is reshaping money by introducing new assets and transactions, pushing fintech to innovate beyond traditional models and focus on real value creation for lasting impact.
2. Strategic Partnerships for Resilient Growth
– Fintech’s reliance on venture capital creates funding cycles; strategic alliances with traditional finance provide stability, supporting sustainable growth and long-term customer relationships.
3. AI-Enhanced KYC for Better Client Experience
– Fragmented KYC processes impact client experience, but fintechs are using AI and data integration to streamline compliance, risk scoring, and create more seamless, customer-centered services.
4. AI as a Solution to Legacy Constraints
– While banks are hindered by legacy systems, fintechs can build modern infrastructures and use AI to drive scalable, agile solutions, leading the way in industry modernization.
5. Preparing Future Leaders with Practical Skills
– Academic programs focus on hands-on experience and critical thinking to prepare students for real-world fintech challenges, equipping them to drive innovation in digital finance.

We extend our gratitude to all the overseas guests, and delegates who joined us to explore these innovative projects and look forward to future collaborations that will continue to propel fintech innovation forward.

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UBRI Connect 2024

Thought Leadership

We’d like to express our heartfelt gratitude and special thanks to Lauren Weymouth, Eric van Miltenburg, Ken Weber, and the entire Ripple team for the wonderful opportunity to present our NUS FinTech Lab projects at UBRIConnect2024, held at the University of Zurich from September 9-11. It was an invaluable experience to engage with global academia and researchers, and we greatly appreciate the hospitality and support from the UBRI community.

Here are the key highlights of the projects we showcased:
1. NUSwap – Simulated Trading Platform with Live Market Data: Prof. Jungpil Hahn outlined the need for such a platform, while Valencia Lim, lab interns and Reshma Balaraman, research associates showcased its key features and shared insights from recent trading experiments with Morgan State University and FGV – Fundação Getulio Vargas.

The session provided valuable insights into data analytics and future research applications to shape the fintech landscape. Planned studies will focus on behavioral analysis, longitudinal trends, and the influence of real-world events on trading behaviors. It also emphasized potential collaborations with universities and industries for customized experiments.

The session concluded with pedagogy insights from George Micheni and Ali Emdad and Jéfferson A. Colombo, along with messages and recorded video shared by the top three contest winners.

2. Fractionate Real Estate Tokenization Platform: Presented by Hong Sheng Loy Sheng (lab intern), this project addresses key industry challenges by leveraging blockchain technology to streamline real estate registration. Fractionate enables fractional ownership, lowering the barriers to real estate investment for smaller investors and democratizing access to the property market. The platform also features a decentralized trading system that increases liquidity and flexibility, allowing seamless buying and selling of property tokens, and making real estate investments more accessible and fluid.

3. Verifin – Securing Blockchain Transactions: Presented by Songyue Wang (lab intern), Verifin enhances the security of blockchain transactions by introducing recipient identity auto-validation. As more companies adopt public blockchains for cross-border payments, Verifin tackles risks such as phishing and address poisoning by integrating a layer of identity validation through smart contracts. Built on the XRPL-EVM sidechain, the platform uses advanced technologies like Merkle Trees and PKI to securely verify recipient identities, making blockchain payments safer for B2B and B2C transactions.

The connections and insights we gained at UBRI Connect have further fueled our excitement about the future of fintech, AI, blockchain, security, and financial inclusion. We look forward to pushing boundaries and driving impactful change with our global partners!

NUS AI FinTech Blockchain UBRIConnect2024 Tokenization AlgorithmicTrading FutureOfFinance Collaboration Ripple Technology innovation FinancialInclusion

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AI Governance and Research Symposium at ATxSG, organised by AI Singapore and the Digital Trust Centre Singapore

Thought Leadership

On 29 May 2024, NUS FinTech Lab took part in the AI Governance and Research Symposium at ATxSG, organized by AI Singapore and the Digital Trust Centre Singapore. Our Lab’s Director, Professor Hahn Jungpil, moderated a distinguished panel featuring our Founding Executive Director, Ming T., alongside Jeegar Kakkad, Alham Fikri Aji, and Dr. Yong Hua Lin. They shared insights on effective strategies for institutionalizing AI safety and responsibility across various sectors of society.

Highlighting Southeast Asia’s rapid digital integration and diverse AI governance landscape, the panel emphasized the importance of collaborative and interoperable frameworks, along with proactive, multi-stakeholder governance. This approach addresses regional challenges, fosters digital trust, spurs innovation, and bridges the digital divide while mitigating the unintended consequences of technology adoption.

We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the crucial dialogue on AI safety and responsibility and look forward to continued collaboration in advancing these critical issues within the region

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