US Intelligence Officers Are Funding Analysis on Greenback-Crushing ‘Black Swan’ Occasions

The U.S. Workplace of the Director of Nationwide Intelligence (ODNI) needs to sponsor a post-doc researcher to check what would occur if the U.S. greenback misplaced its standing because the world’s reserve foreign money.

In a job itemizing posted late final yr, the company known as for candidates from the U.S. who’ve a background in economics. The deadline to use is Feb. 28.

The company mentioned the analysis – the primary of its variety for the intelligence neighborhood’s post-doc program – may assist the U.S. put together for “black swan” occasions that may threaten the dominance of the greenback. 

This specific research falls underneath the purview of the National Counterproliferation Center, a middle underneath ODNI that appears for methods to fight the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, partially by stopping terrorist financing. Based on intelligence officers conversant in the matter, the analysis can be shared broadly throughout the intelligence neighborhood.

Whereas officers wouldn’t attribute the research’s initiation to anyone occasion or development, the post-doc researcher itemizing does cite predictions from “cryptocurrency lovers” {that a} world cryptocurrency or nationwide digital foreign money may undermine the U.S. greenback, and mentions the rising economies of China and India.

“If both of those situations or others come to cross, the U.S. would lose each its standing on the earth and its world authorities,” the company wrote within the itemizing. “The U.S. ought to put together to establish potential ‘black swan’ occasions that would revolutionize the monetary enjoying area in methods we don’t but perceive – presenting strategic shock – and perceive root causes and driving components which can be notably delicate to sure world or technical occasions.”

The post-doc program begins originally of the subsequent fiscal yr on Oct. 1 and runs for 2 years. The analysis is unclassified and the researcher doesn’t obtain any particular clearances, however researchers will obtain ODNI’s sponsorship, funding and entry to IT together with superior computing, the officers mentioned. The company additionally wouldn’t management the researcher’s work however would test in periodically to ensure the company understands it. 

ODNI mentioned it will probably additionally join the researcher with consultants at ODNI and different authorities entities, just like the Federal Reserve, however is not going to present knowledge or data that’s not already publicly obtainable. 

The company is in search of a researcher who will apply statistics, synthetic intelligence and deep studying to historic “black swan” occasions and potential future situations. The itemizing suggests the researcher would possibly then search for what the most-likely situations are and in what timeframes they might unfold.