Lecture on Michael Najjar's Artwork and Algorithmic Influence

Michael Najjar's Photograph

• Location: Argentina
• Nature: Real and fictional
  • Real: Photograph taken in Argentina
  • Fictional: Digitally altered contours of mountains to reflect the Dow Jones index
  • Example: The 2008 financial crisis depicted as a high precipice with a valley

Artistic Metaphor with Algorithms

• Definition: Math transition from extraction/derivation to shaping the world
• Focus: Algorithms
  • Math that computers use to make decisions
  • Acquire truth by repetition

Cold War and Physicists

• Context: Hungarian physicist's experience during Cold War
  • Job: Breaking stealth technology
  • Method: Instead of radar, used box detecting electronic signals
• Transition: Physicists moved to financial services
  • Wall Street employs 2,000 physicists

Algorithmic Trading on Wall Street

• Purpose: To hide and find large stock positions (e.g., Proctor & Gamble)
• Process: Algorithms break large trades into smaller ones
• Impact: Represents 70% of the U.S. stock market
  • Example: Flash Crash of 2:45 – sudden 9% market drop in 5 minutes
• Reality: Writing things we can no longer read

Identifying Algorithms

• Company: Nanex in Boston searches for and identifies rogue algorithms
• Examples: Named algorithms like the Knife, the Carnival, the Boston Shuffler

Algorithms in Everyday Life

• Amazon: Pricing glitches due to algorithms in conflict
  • Example: Book price jumping from $1.7 million to $23.6 million
• Netflix: Multiple recommendation algorithms
  • Current: Pragmatic Chaos influences 60% of rentals
• Hollywood: Epagogix rates scripts' financial potential

Home and Architecture

• Competing Robots: Cleaning robots with different definitions of clean
• Elevators: Destination-control elevators using bin-packing algorithm
  • People panic due to lack of traditional controls

Wall Street’s Speed Dependency

• Speed: Operate in milliseconds and microseconds
  • Example: 500,000 microseconds to click a mouse; algorithms must be faster
• Architecture: Buildings repurposed for server proximity
• Internet Hub: Carrier Hotel in New York as a central point

Spread Networks

• Project: Fiber optic cable between NYC and Chicago for faster trading
• Motivation: Speed for algorithm efficiency

Future Trends

• MIT Theoretical Work: Light cones and quantum entanglement
• Infrastructure Requirements: Servers in remote ocean locations

Conclusion: Michael Najjar’s Prophecy

• Essence: Artwork as a prophecy of algorithmic influence on Earth
• Implication: Understanding algorithms as a natural force in co-evolution