Algo Bots and the Law : Technology, Automation, and the Regulation of Futures and Other Derivatives

The markets for derivatives are extremely important to the financial system, yet many people are unfamiliar with their influence on the global economy. Demystifying these markets, Gregory Scopino explores how the dramatic transition from human-centered trading to automated systems and artificial intelligence poses challenges to market oversight.

The trillion-dollar markets for futures, swaps, commodity options, and related derivatives are extremely important to the global economy because, among other things, they influence the prices that people pay for everything from heating oil and bread to the interest rates connected to mortgages and student loans. Due to technological advances in automation and artificial intelligence, these markets have recently undergone a dramatic transformation away from human-centered trading and operations to control by high-speed automated systems. In this work, Gregory Scopino explains how such changes present challenges to the oversight of these markets and discusses potential ways for authorities to address issues presented by computerized trading and related systems. This book should be read by anyone interested in learning how artificial intelligence is used in the financial markets and how those markets are - and should be - regulated.