h/t cryptogon and from TED – “Kevin Slavin argues that we’re living in a world designed for — and increasingly controlled by — algorithms. In this riveting talk from TEDGlobal, he shows how these complex computer programs determine: espionage tactics, stock prices, movie scripts, and architecture. And he warns that we are writing code we can’t understand, with implications we can’t control.”
Update X1 – Here’s a story covering “Black Box Hedge Funds“ you might find interesting.
h/t Evelyn
Read more at TED.com
Here are just some of the sobering facts:
— There are 8.5 million people receiving unemployment insurance and over 40 million receiving food stamps.— At the current pace of job creation, the economy won’t return to full employment until 2018.
— Middle-income jobs are disappearing from the economy. The share of middle-income jobs in the United States has fallen from 52% in 1980 to 42% in 2010.
— Middle-income jobs have been replaced by low-income jobs, which now make up 41% of total employment.
— 17 million Americans with college degrees are doing jobs that require less than the skill levels associated with a bachelor’s degree.
— Over the past year, nominal wages grew only 1.7% while all consumer prices, including food and energy, increased by 2.7%.
— Wages and salaries have fallen from 60% of personal income in 1980 to 51% in 2010. Government transfers have risen from 11.7% of personal income in 1980 to 18.4% in 2010, a post-war high.
Read the full report by clicking HERE