The #SpaceX story illustrates why ETFs are just like web browsers and can be exploited in a similar way. Read my newest post where I explore the company's IPO like a CVE.

https://misaligned.markets/rapid-unscheduled-devaluation/

#cybersecurity #IPO #misalignedmarkets #capitalism

Rapid Unscheduled Devaluation: The geometry of the SpaceX IPO

No rules were broken in the making of the world's largest IPO, revealing a deeper flaw than critics realize.

Misaligned Markets

My writing at #misalignedmarkets began w/ the idea that mainstream #economics describes a bloodless, abstract world where rules are symmetrically enforced and followed.

I'm now (metaphorically) importing
#cybersecurity into econ to show that markets are interfaces whose inputs and outputs can be tweaked by the powerful.

Learn how athletes, crypto bros, and companies "hack" the rules within the systems they're part of in my latest post.
#infoSec #hacking #capitalism

https://misaligned.markets/gaming-the-system/

The geometry of rules (or how to "game the system")

The way players cheese games reveals how markets, networks, and other systems are exploited.

Misaligned Markets

The way we measure the #economy hasn't changed in nearly a century. This methodology makes it very easy to miss the fact that life has gotten harder for the average American. Wall Street analysts at Citibank anticipated this over 20 years ago in a memo to wealthy clients.

https://misaligned.markets/its-the-plutonomy-stupid/

#blog #economics #capitalism #inequality #GDP #oligarchy #misalignedmarkets

It’s the plutonomy, stupid!

The economy's composition changed over 20 years ago, but economic reporting hasn't caught up.

Misaligned Markets

Chrematistics or accumulation without limit was the most important concept I ever learned about. It's not #greed per se, it's something much worse and it dominates our world. #capitalism #philosophy #misalignedmarkets #poliecon

https://medium.com/@misaligned-markets/greed-is-not-selfishness-0474653eba10

Greed is not selfishness

It’s actually something far more dangerous.

Medium

(1/3) I learned a lot through blogging last year, as writing is a form of reflection. In this blog post I speedrun some of the more interesting topics I discussed. Mainly two ideas that illustrate how capitalism creates “attack surfaces” in market economies.

https://misaligned.markets/one-year-of-misaligned-markets/

#cybersecurity #capitalism #economics #politicaleconomy #philosophy #infosec #misalignedmarkets

A short #thread 🧵:

Reflecting on one year of Misaligned Markets!

Misaligned Markets turns one year old. I reflect on the year and what comes next.

Misaligned Markets

(6/6) #Capitalism runs like a computer (and it's being hacked)

Markets under capitalism are an open system whose norms and protocols can be hijacked to create permanent structural advantages. Very similar to #exploits #vulnerabilities in #cybersecurity.

Because #capitalists institutions determine what can be bought and sold in market capitalism they are often targets of hijacking.

#blog #anniversary #misalignedmarkets #longthread

https://misaligned.markets/capitalism-as-a-stack/

Capitalism runs like a computer (and it's being hacked)

Like computer networks, market capitalism rewards actors that exploit gaps created by system and user behavior.

Misaligned Markets

(5/6) The tension at the heart of market #capitalism
Markets under capitalism face four paradoxes managing the balance of power in the system:

1. Property rights limit competition.
2. Property rights enforcement invites exploitation.
3. Markets reward secrecy but need transparency to function well.
4. Market success undermines market competition.

#blog #anniversary #misalignedmarkets #longthread

https://misaligned.markets/tension-market-capitalism/

The tension at the heart of market capitalism

Capitalism promises competition, but its biggest winners avoid it. Separating markets from capitalism explains this paradox.

Misaligned Markets

(4/6) The lethal economics of corporate kung fu
Market failure = firm success. To understand #economic reality, we have to understand that companies are competing over ways to avoid economic competition. Even if it comes at consumers' expense. Corporate kung fu are the insane tactics companies pursue that screw over consumers.

#blog #anniversary #misalignedmarkets #longthread

https://misaligned.markets/corponomics-lethal-econ-kung-fu/

The lethal economics of corporate kung fu

Does competition in market capitalism incentivize increasingly cleverer ways of bypassing economic competition?

Misaligned Markets

(3/6) AI hype is a mirror of market fundamentalism
#LLMs are the perfect microcosm of capitalism. These systems mask the vast amounts of labor needed to run them, allowing commodity fetishism to form around #AImodels.

This mirrors the fetishism #neoliberal #economists display around markets, detached from understanding the influence of #capitalist institutions and #politics on markets.

#blog #anniversary #misalignedmarkets #longthread

https://misaligned.markets/ai-hype-market-fundamentalism/

AI hype is a mirror of market fundamentalism

Both AI enthusiasts and market fundamentalists gloss over the context needed to understand complex systems.

Misaligned Markets

(2/6) #LLM “intelligence” is a #darkpattern. I argue that the defining feature of LLMs is that they’re a structured “dark pattern” meant to launder the idea that a mind’s on the other side.

To that end, unlike any good technology, there’s no affordance that promotes any intended use. That doesn't make LLMs useless, but it makes them extremely dangerous from a user safety standpoint. Like a hammer without a handle.

#blog #anniversary #misalignedmarkets #longthread

https://misaligned.markets/llm-intelligence-is-a-dark-pattern/

LLM “intelligence” is a dark pattern

LLMs leverage scaffolding and user psychology to appear as slabs of raw intelligence in service of a costly illusion.

Misaligned Markets