Ethics, Finance, and Automation: A Preliminary Survey of Problems in High Frequency Trading.

All of finance is now automated, most notably high frequency trading. This paper examines the ethical implications of this fact. As automation is an interdisciplinary endeavor, we argue that the interfaces between the respective disciplines can lead to conflicting ethical perspectives; we also argue...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science & Engineering Ethics Vol. 19; no. 3; pp. 851 - 875
Main Authors: Davis, Michael, Kumiega, Andrew, Vliet, Ben
Format: Article
Published: Springer Nature Sep2013
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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Summary:All of finance is now automated, most notably high frequency trading. This paper examines the ethical implications of this fact. As automation is an interdisciplinary endeavor, we argue that the interfaces between the respective disciplines can lead to conflicting ethical perspectives; we also argue that existing disciplinary standards do not pay enough attention to the ethical problems automation generates. Conflicting perspectives undermine the protection those who rely on trading should have. Ethics in finance can be expanded to include organizational and industry-wide responsibilities to external market participants and society. As a starting point, quality management techniques can provide a foundation for a new cross-disciplinary ethical standard in the age of automation.