Algorithms

In “The Relevance of Algorithms,” Tarleton Gillepsie introduces the role of algorithms within the big data and surveillance industries operating within the information society. Gillepsie describes algorithms as computer coding that is designed to transform a set of inputs into a desired set of outputs (Gillepsie, 171). A clear example of such mechanisms is the widely used Google search engine, which produces millions of search results when a user types “funniest cat videos” into the search box. However, who is to say what the “funniest cat video” is? A video may evoke hysterical laughter from one person and a mere smirk from another. Gillepsie maintains that the answer is the subjective computer programmer that makes an algorithm inherently biased (need citation).

In Lewis’ Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt, HFT firms would spend millions of dollars to entice computer programmers to enter a field unknown to them: the financial markets. The best of these programmers were often Russian. This was not because Russia has superior computer access than the United States; its rationale is actually just the opposite. In Russia, Lewis states, computer time for students was relatively very expensive and, therefore, tightly regulated by the government. This meant that if a programmer wanted to program his/her complicated code correctly, he/she would actually need to spend hours of their time off of the computer, to thoroughly think through the code from all angles. Their unique thought processes tended to make these Russians highly skilled programmers. While Russian computer programmers were geniuses within their field, Lewis emphasizes that they were mere newcomers to the United States stock market. This allowed HFT firm managers to manipulate them into programming code that (likely unknown by the Russians) immorally front-ran average investors.