Doug Hamilton, head of artificial intelligence (AI) research at Nasdaq and a University of Illinois Springfield alum, spoke about the current state of artificial intelligence and ethical considerations during two appearances April 12-13, 2023, on campus.
Hamilton earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UIS in 2012. He then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he earned his master’s in engineering and management.
April 12 Discussion Recording
On April 12, he spoke to UIS students as part of the Student Technology, Arts & Research Symposium about “Ethical Artificial Intelligence: An Industry Perspective.”
The following day, Hamilton discussed the recent increase in the introduction of AI models and applications, such as ChatGPT, during a panel discussion hosted by UIS and Innovate Springfield. He addressed how AI is being applied in financial trading and other major industry sectors.
“At Nasdaq, we think about the application of AI in two ways – on the business versus in the business,” Hamilton said. “When we talk about AI, on the business is really how we’re using AI tools to improve efficiency across our business lines. This is a kind of a very traditional way AIs have been used in the past. When we talk about in the business that’s more about how we get (AI) into products and services we provide.”
Doug Hamilton
Hamilton said Nasdaq is currently using AI tools to improve the transparency, liquidity and efficiency of modern financial markets. An example is a new system called Strike Optimization that launched six months ago to help manage options markets. Nasdaq is also building AI tools to assist in the determination of infrastructure needs as they migrate their markets to the cloud.
In the financial services world, Hamilton said very sophisticated hedge funds and asset managers are leveraging AI when it comes to asset allocation and risk management.
“What AI is good at is taking dispart observations and consolidating them to a particular view of the world economy, so there are many options, including risk, and developing a portfolio to invest in,” Hamilton said. “This technology could and should be used more and more in index and mutual fund areas to democratize data finance for the typical retail investor.”
April 13 Discussion Recording
Other April 13 panelists included Elham Khorasani Buxton, UIS associate professor of computer science; Hei-Chi Chan, UIS associate professor of mathematical science and astronomy-physics; and Jeff Schneider, founder and CEO of BrandOps, a marketing performance platform. Bruce Sommer, UIS director of economic development and innovation, moderated the discussion.
A full recording of the April 13 discussion is available online.