I wonder if I and others have been watching too many episodes of Battlestar Galactica and sci-fi channel re-runs of 2001: A Space Odyssey?

The New York Times reported last week that our machines are becoming smarter than we, and scientists are debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control over computer-based systems.  A threat?  Not for a while, I would hope.

The New York Times also reported last week that traders like Goldman Sachs – the bad guys in case you don’t know about the internet bubble, housing bubble and oil bubble – are beginning to make a lot of money by subtly manipulating share prices with high-speed, high-frequency trading.  The issue came to light when a former Goldman Sachs computer programmer left with secret computer codes, which a federal prosecutor now claims could be used to “manipulate markets in unfair ways.”  Hhhmmm?!?  If the programmer could use them to manipulate markets in unfair ways, how was Goldman Sachs using them?  A threat?  Yes, and now.