AI Agents Can Now Investigate Financial Crime Faster Than Humans

Financial crime is becoming more complex, more connected, and harder to detect. As money moves across borders in real time, many of the systems banks rely on were built for a very different era.

In this episode of Machine Dreams, Sam and Leah speak with Brad Levy, CEO of ThetaRay, about how AI is being used to detect and investigate money laundering across global payment networks. From anomaly detection to “cognitive AI,” Brad explains how these systems move beyond static rules to identify patterns that don’t look right—even when no one has seen them before.

The conversation also explores how geopolitical conflicts reshape financial flows, why banks still struggle to modernize, and whether AI-powered agents will replace human investigators or make them more effective.