Econgularity – a shorthand for economic singularity — is an ugly word I created to describe an unfortunately approaching moment in time when our current technological snooping prowess, the ease of Big Data manipulation, and our sprint to a cashless economy will converge in such a way as to permit governments to exercise incredibly powerful control over all human behavior. While this may sound like a paranoid doomsday scenario to some, as a real world finance professional, I believe that this scenario is not only eminently possible, but most of the technology is already available — albeit not yet fully marshalled – to make it a reality. Technological advances have led to the creation of algorithms that can instantaneously review financial transactions, determining the nature, location, and even the appropriateness of a purchase decision. These have been freely used by credit and debit card companies. Cardholders already encounter this technology when they receive fraud alerts after a transaction that looks out of kilter with the particular consumer’s normal behavior. The technologies, can thus serve to protect consumers. That being said, they have already been used to control consumer behavior. In 2010, Visa and MasterCard, bowed to government pressure – not [...]
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