Machines "Take Over" New York Stock Market, Cause Crash

[mrhappyface]

Here, I'll start up some inspirational music to prepare us for the future!

 

[Samurai Goomba]

Machines were also partially responsible for the other major dip. In the end though, it doesn't matter, as the stock market is nothing more than "A financial circle-jerk", with no real impact on the actual economy.

I think of it more as a microcosm of what happens in the real world of economics. It's debatable whether market crashes and gains cause economic down and upswings, or whether they merely reflect changes which are already happening in reality. In my opinion it's both. Sometimes the one, sometimes the other.

To dismiss the power of expectations in a capitalist society seems a bit cavalier. If you started up a company and reported a 1.3 billion dollar projected quarterly earning, your real life would change very fast. The same would be true if you had a very good business and some false information got onto the market essentially saying your business sucked and made no money.

You don't have to "play" the market to be affected by it.

 

[Captain Pancake]

This made no sense to me.And just reading about stock workers just reaffirmed in my heart that I never want to make a career choice in buying and selling other people's imaginary property.

 

[SNIPERFOX ft. Harry P.Ness]

serves those damn banker right

 

[Brian Name]

Between this and robots who can lethally stab you in the kitchen I don't know what we'll do...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10102398.stm

 

[7ru7h]

PEBKAC: Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair

Don't blame "the machines" for the error, humans inputted that data. What's next, another stock drop and Wall Street blames SkyNet?

I told them not to hook SkyNet up to the main server banks, but noooooooo, I'm just some programmer who watches SciFi, what do I know? Well I'll show them! I'LL SHOW THEM ALL!! ALL GLORY TO OUR NEW ROBOT MAST--

*Ahem*

Yes.... problems with the wetware. I'll get right on fixing that.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

OT: I remember hearing on the Radio that it was a Computer Mistake.

And then one thing led to another and investors started to panic.

All the investors ever fucking do is panic, and that never ends well. If they stopped panicking perhaps less damage would be done.

This made no sense to me.And just reading about stock workers just reaffirmed in my heart that I never want to make a career choice in buying and selling other people's imaginary property.

Yeah, it's like having a lucrative business in buying and selling souls. I'm not sure why it's allowed, but of course I shouldn't speculate (hehe, that was a good stock market pun), because someone more knowledgeable than me in these matters will somehow manage to explain exactly why it is a universal good.

 

[Davrel]

I, for one, welcome our new electronic overlords.

 

[silentsentinel]

Just wait until Wikipedia gains sentience. Then we'll see.

 

[Treblaine]

"Why lose millions when we could lose... Billions?!?!"

 

[Twilight_guy]

Damn you code monkeys! Stop eating bananas and fix this bug!

It sounds like somebody made a boo-boo and the AIs interpreted this according to there programing, which happens to predict doom in such situations. It would be interesting to know what kind of AI is at work though.

 

[jerrrry]

Why are computers dealing with the stock market? If computers did make the market crash completley, how would that really effect us? It wouldn't, unless you invest in the stock market. The only people it effects are the extremley rich, just all the bullshit rolls down on the population so they can keep their money.

Only the extremely rich? Apart from the fact that it affects all kinds of businesses and institutions that almost everyone uses/is affected by (which has been mentioned numerous times in this thread), how about people's life savings and retirement funds? Most people's savings are in a 401k or some kind of mutual fund (or combination of). These things are essentially repackaged groups of stocks. I am pretty sure it affects a hell of a lot of people who are not extremely rich.