First published 2013
Scott Patterson reveals how programming prodigies transformed Wall Street by creating automated trading systems. These computer experts built digital equivalents of legendary investors, spawning a new financial ecosystem where machines execute trades with other machines at lightning speed. Fortunes appear and vanish in milliseconds as anonymous algorithms battle in electronic marketplaces. Patterson examines the architects behind this technological shift and traces how their innovations reshaped global finance. The reporter investigates whether humans retain meaningful oversight of these automated systems and explores the regulatory challenges they present. He questions who bears responsibility when computer-driven trading goes wrong. Through detailed reporting, Patterson exposes the mechanics of modern electronic markets and warns of their potential dangers. The book reveals how cutting-edge technology has fundamentally altered the nature of financial trading.
Genres: business, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century, finance, algorithms
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism
Setting: Wall Street
Period: 21st Century
368 pages · Paperback · Random House Business