Two AI Oracles, two contradictory prophecies

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) operates in a world where information travels at the speed of light, where fortunes are made and lost in milliseconds, and where the traditional gatekeepers of financial integrity regulators, auditors, and human oversight struggle to keep pace.

- by C. A. Saliya

Now, add artificial intelligence (AI) to this volatile mix, and we face an unprecedented threat that demands our immediate attention.

A recent academic article, by Professor Tom C.W. Lin from Temple University's law school, presents a sobering analysis of how AI-driven misinformation and market manipulation pose existential risks to financial markets, globally.

The May 2023 Wake-Up Call: Markets Too Fast to Police

On a Monday morning in May 2023, AI-generated images showed an explosion near the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Within nine minutes, before authorities could debunk the fake images, the US stock market lost $500 billion in value. Nine minutes. Half a trillion dollars. Based on completely fabricated content created by artificial intelligence.

If this can happen in the highly sophisticated, heavily regulated American market, with billions spent on surveillance and enforcement, what chance does the CSE have?

The reality is stark: everything that can be manipulated by AI will be manipulated by AI. The technology is accessible, increasingly cheap, and advancing at exponential rates. Meanwhile, our regulatory frameworks, designed for an analog age of human traders and paper trails, are woefully inadequate for this new reality.

When Artificial Intelligence Can't Even Agree with Itself, Why Should You Trust it with Your Money?

I just conducted an experiment that should terrify every investor in the Colombo Stock Exchange. I asked two different AI systems to analyze the same market and recommend stocks. The results weren't just different; they were diametrically opposed. And that contradiction reveals something far more dangerous than any single market manipulation scheme. Let me show you exactly what happened.

The Great AI Contradiction

AI Assistant #1's Stock Picks (Based on a descriptive prompt; fundamentals and technical) See Table 1