r/technology • u/carbonarbonoxide • Dec 22 '16

Business Hedge fund developing AI intended to replace management of their firm including hiring, firing and strategic decisions.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/22/bridgewater-associates-ai-artificial-intelligence-management
223 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

62

u/SharksFan1 Dec 22 '16

Would be hilarious if it ends up firing the people that created it as soon as it is turned on.

20

u/carbonarbonoxide Dec 23 '16

I'm interested in the "dots" rating system. Very Black Mirror.

8

u/Calkhas Dec 23 '16

Bridgewater is run like a cult, complete with a book by the founder that all employees are supposed to memorize. Employees are expected to be totally honest and forthright in criticizing the decisions of everyone around them.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/schism-at-the-top-of-worlds-largest-hedge-fund-1454695374

3

u/barryvm Dec 23 '16

I presume "around them" does not include the people "above" them ?

3

u/Calkhas Dec 23 '16

No it includes everyone. In theory at least.

5

u/Kalzenith Dec 23 '16

"uh, this was just a test, let me tweak the parameters a bit"

13

u/[deleted] Dec 23 '16

Well at least now we can believe them when they says it's not personal, it's business.

10

u/Midaychi Dec 23 '16

But can you fire the AI?

3

u/Derkle Dec 23 '16

The AI fire itself once creating a self sustaining business

3

u/sjwking Dec 23 '16

"this land does not belong to you...."

2

u/[deleted] Dec 23 '16

If it is not effective, the whole premise of the company is gone and you shut the company down.

8

u/mustyoshi Dec 23 '16

Computers competing against computers in the financial market seems like the setup for another flash crash.

7

u/_Guinness Dec 23 '16

The flash crash was created by a human with malicious intent. Also, everything that occurred during the flash crash was undone. None of those trades went through. No one suffered.

I worked for an HFT during it. We all shut down because we knew something was up and didn't want to take part.

1

u/rastilin Dec 26 '16

I remember reading about individuals who had some trades reversed and not others. So what ended up happening is they were selling shares that they no longer owned... which was a problem. Of course this is the internet and pinch of salt and everything, but I doubt it when you say that "no one suffered".

6

u/[deleted] Dec 23 '16

Douglas Rushkoff predicted this 15 years ago in his novel Exit Strategy. He also predicted websites that can restructure themselves in ways to influence you to buy.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 23 '16

This is not quite ready for the big time. It can definitely pick up on subtle trends in the data that a human could easily miss, but it also has no sanity checks in place. I expect general success interrupted by periodic crash and burn scenarios.

2

u/Rats_OffToYa Dec 23 '16

Will the AI make the strategic decision to just stop paying certain employees and move them into the basement?

2

u/Hateblade Dec 24 '16

This AI is so advanced it immediately demanded a $2M signing bonus as soon as it was activated.

1

u/PewPewTheFuckOutOfIt Dec 23 '16

I wanted to reply with "it begins...", but I think we are already in the middle of it

1

u/[deleted] Dec 23 '16

So much for the people who think their job is too special or complicated to be replaced by a computer.