Future Of AI In Finance
In the future, I would like to trade for a living. Whether that be for a hedge fund (I would name it Irongate) or for some dude in South Dakota. Nothing could make me change my mind on that, I have known what I have wanted to do since I was ten. However, that does not mean I don’t find the potential of AI to be fascinating. I already know that the best of the best funds use hyper-complex algorithms to find the best possible opportunities, but I think AI is going to supercharge that. Human advancement and computers are interesting stories on evolution. Both started out as crude, useless, un-imaginative creatures. However, both the computer and humanity have continued to progress at exponential rates. Humans in our current evolutionary form have existed for about 200,000 years, and it has taken us that long to reach our current state. Computers have existed, technically, since 1943, and in some aspects, they are coming closer to or already have surpassed human intellect. They will never be able to think exactly like a human would, but in straightforward tasks, they excel. In processing data, and then acting on that data they have surpassed us already. AI is the next step in the evolutionary chart for computers. They will begin to process more clearly, instead of just spitting out processed data I believe they will begin to start making connections on their own. Completely independent of human involvement. Sort of like neurons and synapses firing in a brain, they will begin to build up, and improve their “thinking.” Maybe this has already happened and I don’t know, I’m not really a computer/AI expert. I will however be fascinated to see how these funds and monolithic money managers like Blackrock will use these rapidly improving computer programs. I think that the funds that adapt the quickest will succeed, those who are slow or don’t believe in the change will stumble. Those with the leaders stuck in the past, or in love with their power (Icahn) will watch their market share decrease slowly as AI becomes more and more impactful. Sort of in the way that the prevalence of the Internet changed the way brokerage companies had to operate, I believe AI will impact momentary trading in a more intense way. Then the question becomes, if you are seeking a future in that industry, will you be able to find a job, or will you be pushed out by an AI tool that is objectively better than you are? I genuinely don’t know. I’m not sure you want this completely inexperienced kid’s opinion on this, but here it is. The grunts are going to find it harder to find work in that specific way. People will still be hired to run money for other people, but it will likely be in service of AI which is working for a human that runs the fund. Whether it be data gathering or AI prompting, I don’t know. I can tell you this, the mixture of fear and excitement is intoxicating, and I can’t wait to see where this will go.
