Why humans should stop making so many decisions

Posted by Mike Walsh

Mar 6, 2018 1:54:38 AM

Jason Collins

 

One of the hardest things for any algorithmic leader is knowing when do nothing at all. This is not an entirely new dilemma. Test pilots in the early days of the space program, struggled with the idea of not having manual controls - even when their own interventions led to deadly mistakes. So just when do humans make good decisions? To get to the bottom of that, I chatted with Jason Collins, a behavioral economist, who has written extensively on these ideas at the Behavioral Scientist, and currently runs the data science team at a major financial regulator. He previously co-led PwC Australia's behavioral economics practice.

 

CATEGORY: Leadership, Financial Services

How to build a business on Blockchain

Posted by Mike Walsh

Feb 19, 2018 7:29:16 PM

Mark Van Rijmenam

 

Mark van Rijmenam is one of the world’s foremost experts on the Blockchain, and its potential impact on the future of the firm. Named as one of the top 10 global big data influencers by Onalytica, he is the author of the book 'Think Bigger – Developing a Successful Big Data Strategy for Your Business'. His latest book is titled 'Blockchain: How a Revolutionary Technology will Improve Business and Society'. After reading some of his research papers, I was fascinated to have a coffee with him and talk about algorithms, smart contracts and what decentralized autonomous organisations might mean for tomorrow’s leadership teams.

 

CATEGORY: Innovation, Financial Services

The Bitcoin civil war, crypto-banking, and the power of algorithmic thinking

Posted by Mike Walsh

Aug 5, 2017 9:12:02 PM

Arthur Hayes.jpg

 

Arthur Hayes has a big idea. He wants to build the Goldman Sachs of Bitcoin. Starting life as an equity derivatives trader, on his first day of trading, Lehman Brothers collapsed. A few years ago, he formed BitMEX, the Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange. BitMEX is trading platform that gives retail investors access to the global financial markets using Bitcoin, the Blockchain, and financial derivatives. BitMEX through the use of Bitcoin as collateral, allows anyone anywhere to trade any type of financial asset. The vision is that even the unbanked in emerging markets, with just a $1 to invest or save, might be served by this entirely new model of financial services.

 

CATEGORY: Technology, Financial Services

Uncertainty, wealth and the future of financial advice

Posted by Mike Walsh

Feb 19, 2017 11:26:28 AM

Carl Richards.jpg

 

If you have ever picked up a copy of the New York Times, you have probably come across one of Carl Richards and his insightful, back-of-the-napkin drawings and posts that illuminate the basics of money. A financial planner, and author of The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way to Be Smart About Your Money and The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money - Carl is a fascinating thinker on the future of wealth. We spoke about his latest research on uncertainty, financial planning for freelancers, and why human advisors will remain relevant even in an age of algorithms.

 

CATEGORY: Customers, Financial Services

Automation, the blockchain and the race to build the cognitive enterprise

Posted by Mike Walsh

Jan 31, 2017 2:09:23 AM

Peter Xing.jpg

 

Peter Xing is a key figure in the Australian transhumanism movement, and an expert on business automation. We spoke about the road to building cognitive enterprises, why we need to shift from thinking about digitizing documents to smart contracts, and why the first step in any good digital transformation is defining processes in a way to make your company ‘machine readable’.

 

CATEGORY: Technology, Financial Services