Not necessarily. Part of Kwak's problem with software is that it is taking humans out of the system. For example, the stock trading software that runs a modern exchange replaces the human traders who used to exchange physical slips of paper. A human trader can look at a particular trade, say, "Hmmm, that doesn't look right," and ask for confirmation. A computer can't (in the general case). So, if humans are the resilience in any system, what happens when you start taking humans out?
They do this all the time. There are quite a few pre and post-trade checks enforced by the exchanges. The net result is that if things go wildly wrong, trading will most likely stop.
This is part of the reason why Knight Capital's implosion had such a minimal effect on anything besides Knight's shareholders.
quanticle|13 years ago
yummyfajitas|13 years ago
They do this all the time. There are quite a few pre and post-trade checks enforced by the exchanges. The net result is that if things go wildly wrong, trading will most likely stop.
This is part of the reason why Knight Capital's implosion had such a minimal effect on anything besides Knight's shareholders.