AI vs The Market: How Algorithms Are Rewiring Global Capitalism

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The world’s financial markets are no longer driven solely by human decisions. They are increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and algorithmic systems that execute trades at lightning speed, shift billions across borders in milliseconds, and influence the value of currencies, commodities, and even national economies.   In this video, we explore the rise of AI in global finance, from high-frequency trading and algorithmic market manipulation, to the concentration of power in the hands of corporations and mega-banks that design these invisible systems. We look at the risks of instability — such as the 2010 Flash Crash — and ask how governments, regulators, and ordinary citizens can possibly keep pace with machines that move faster than political decision-making.   This is not simply a question of economics — it is a question of power, democracy, and sovereignty. Who really rules the markets in the 21st century: elected governments, central banks, or the algorithms humming inside hidden data centres?   Also on youtube: https://youtu.be/fkl_UkR3D5A   👉 Watch the full video to uncover:   How AI algorithms dominate Wall Street and global stock exchanges   The role of corporate mega-players and shadow banking institutions   Why national regulators are struggling to keep up   The dangers of financial instability in a world run by machines   What this means for pensions, mortgages, and everyday life   📌 Related content from our channel:   Shadow Banking and the Invisible Empire of Capital   The End of the Rules-Based Order? Global Power Shifts After Ukraine and Gaza   How Capitalism Conquered the World — And What Comes Next   Playlist: Algorithmic Hegemony: Who Really Rules the 21st Century?   🌍 Follow us everywhere for more:   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wperspective2   Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/worldpe   TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@worldperspec   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldperspective2/   Threads: https://www.threads.com/@worldperspective2   Twitter/X: https://x.com/worldperspec   #AI #Finance #GlobalCapitalism #Markets #Economics #AlgorithmicHegemony #WorldPerspective

Transcript

00:00The financial world once thrived on human decision-making.

00:04Traders, brokers, central bankers, all debating, analysing and reacting in real time.

00:10But in the last two decades, something extraordinary has shifted.

00:14Today, a significant share of global finance is no longer managed by people at all.

00:21It is managed by algorithms. Silent lines of code, executing trades at speeds no human

00:28being can match and often making decisions that even their creators struggle to fully explain.

00:34Consider this. On Wall Street and in London, the majority of trades are now executed by machines.

00:42They operate in milliseconds, reacting to tiny changes in price, news feeds or even social media

00:48sentiment. The so-called flash crash of 2010, when markets lost and regained nearly a trillion dollars

00:56within minutes, was not caused by a geopolitical shock or a banking collapse. It was caused by

01:03automated systems colliding with one another in ways regulators could neither anticipate

01:09nor control. This is not just about trading speed. It is about power. When algorithms dominate finance,

01:17the question arises, who really rules the economy? Is it governments and central banks supposedly

01:24steering growth and stability? Or is it the corporations, hedge funds and mega banks that

01:30design these systems, profiting from their ability to anticipate and manipulate markets at scale?

01:38Supporters of algorithmic trading argue that these systems bring efficiency. They reduce costs, improve

01:44liquidity and ensure that markets operate without friction. But critics warn of fragility. If all the

01:52machines move in the same direction at the same time, markets can collapse faster than governments can

01:58respond. Algorithms are not guided by values, by social purpose or by a sense of public duty. They are guided

02:06by mathematical models and profit motives, which often ignore the human consequences of their decisions.

02:13And here lies the paradox. Central banks like the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European

02:18Central Bank still believe they are in control, adjusting interest rates or announcing policy changes.

02:24Yet their influence is filtered through layers of automated decision making. The algorithms react instantly,

02:32amplifying or distorting the intended effect. In some cases, AI even predicts central bank behavior before

02:39it happens, creating feedback loops that challenge the very idea of democratic economic governance.

02:47Beyond the stock market, algorithms are transforming pensions, mortgages and insurance.

02:54Your retirement savings may rise or fall depending on decisions made not in human boardrooms,

02:59but in machine-driven data centers. Your mortgage rates might shift because an algorithm in New York,

03:07London or Shanghai recalibrated risk models in response to a market tremor elsewhere in the world.

03:14And then there is the shadow banking system. Hedge funds, private equity, offshore funds,

03:22much of which now relies heavily on algorithmic trading. These institutions operate outside the full

03:28reach of regulators, yet their sheer scale gives them the power to shake entire economies. When their

03:35algorithms misfire, the consequences are global. So what does this mean for ordinary people?

03:41For most of us, the financial world already feels distant and opaque. With AI in control,

03:49it becomes even harder to understand. When crashes happen, it is the public that bears the cost. In lost

03:56jobs, shrinking pensions and austerity measures. Meanwhile, the architects of these systems remain

04:04protected, often rewarded, for creating the very instability they claim to prevent. Some argue for

04:11stricter regulation, international frameworks that could hold financial AI accountable. Others suggest

04:19transparency measures, or even slowing the pace of automated trading to give human oversight a chance to

04:25catch up. But can nation states realistically regulate a global machine economy that operates at the speed

04:33of light? This is the deeper philosophical challenge. If markets are increasingly governed by algorithms,

04:40then economics itself becomes a kind of automated politics. Decisions about value, risk and reward are

04:48being coded into systems that were never voted on, never debated in parliaments, and never subjected to

04:55democratic scrutiny. And here is where the story connects to the larger picture of our age. Just as we saw in

05:03our video on shadow banking and the invisible empire of capital, hidden financial structures shape our lives in

05:11ways most people never see. Just as we explored in the end of the rules-based order, global power is shifting

05:19away from states towards actors who operate beyond accountability. And just as we discussed in How Capitalism

05:27Conquered the World, these changes are not accidents. They are part of a long process by which capital seeks to

05:34reproduce itself regardless of human cost. In the next video in this series, we will push even deeper into this

05:42terrain, exploring how algorithms are not just shaping financial markets, but are increasingly being used for

05:49propaganda, persuasion and political manipulation. The same systems that trade your pension might also be guiding

05:57the information you see, the news you trust, and even the leaders you choose to follow. Because the central

06:03question of our time remains, who really rules the 21st century? Governments, corporations, or the silent

06:12empire of algorithms that no one fully understands?

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