The eye of Sauron gazes down upon us as we click, search and buy online in an endless feedback loop of transactions. We rely on algorithms for advice, for direction and general guidance and reassurance in our personal lives. Machines and robots are thinking because rational humans have stopped thinking. Consider this thought experiment: mentally […]

A recent YouGov poll last week, Tuesday 30 May, provoked a discussion of a likely ‘hung parliament’ in the upcoming UK election. Voters are challenged, faced with many candidates across a spectrum of issues, as the old left-right dichotomy breaks down. In the literature on voting theory, there is a phenomenon called the Condorcet Loser. […]

Who did button my waistcoat, a human or a sufficiently intelligent algorithm, (SIAL)? At Manchester and Smurfit business schools we explore the economics of the sharing economy from a game theory perspective. We have shared observations and experiences of online transactions. They represent data patterns that are embedded in the clicking and scrolling behaviour of […]

Abstract Polar bears pursue seals. But polar bears cannot swim as well as seals. As the ice cap melts, there is less ice caps for the seals to rest. Both have to survive. With melting ice caps, the seal as victim should adapt to the same speed as the pursuer, the polar bear. In the […]

Many have commented that the job market has become an enigma over the past few years. The jobless rate is low, but pay has risen slowly. Are we[1] measuring pay imperfectly? Vacancies co-exist with unemployment and the old phenomenon of under-employment and the new challenge of a zero-hours contract have emerged to colour the landscape. […]