Gillian ChengInvestors may not need to deal with brokers in the future because of the application of artificial intelligence.
Investors can make transactions through the Internet."It is a user-friendly, real-time and efficient system, so it is suitable for both amateurs and professionals.”
Thanks to artificial intelligence, now investors can get market information by just clicking a mouse.
Continued Mr. Lu: “It works by analyzing past experiences and observing some regular patterns of the market to predict and formulate future market trends.
A.I.
Artificial intelligence proving
a valuable tool for investors
By Gillian Cheng
Reasoning ability is no longer evidence of the
superiority of human beings. With the
emergence of artificial intelligence, computers
can now “think” like a human.
Aastocks.com Limited is one of the companies
that now uses artificial intelligence in stock
trading.
Mr. Rou Lu, president and co-chief executive officer of the company, said, “We apply artificial intelligence in monitoring the stock market for professional and individual investors.
“Our company became a fully-fledged information provider for stock trading with the use of artificial intelligence.”
Concerning the cost of setting up such a system, he said that the major expenditures were not on the computer hardware, but on software development.
“We spent four to five months localizing the system, which originated in the U.S.,” said Mr. Lu.
“And a great amount of money was spent on employing computer experts.”
The company is also trying to apply artificial intelligence in other areas, such as foreign exchange.
Apart from stock trading, artificial intelligence has also been used in surveying.
Mr. Alec Wong is the chief executive officer of Land Search Online, which provides valuation services.
Said he: “Our company has used the I-valuer to provide online property valuations for banks and surveyors in Hong Kong since 1999.
“It is a system that combines an artificial intelligence valuation robot with a database to provide online property valuations,” said he.
In the past, banks and surveyors had to spend a lot of money to search for information such as government leases, floor areas, estate facilities and floor plans of buildings for valuation.
With the help of artificial intelligence, however, today they can get the information through the Internet within a few minutes.
The I-valuer possesses three important abilities of artificial intelligence – to understand, to learn and to react.
“The system can make a very comprehensive analysis by using various kinds of information like the height, environment, view and age of the buildings,” said Mr. Wong.
“It can also ‘understand’ market trends by analyzing transaction information.
“The world is ever changing,” he continued.
“With the ability to learn, our system can provide a more accurate valuation by learning from past transactions and observing the new market trend.
“The ability to react helps to make accurate reports and valuations.”
In general, the I-valuer is made up of three parts, including software, hardware and a database.
“We do not spend much money on software and hardware because they are designed in-house,” said Mr. Wong.
“The most expensive part is the database.
“There is really an acute need to adopt this new technology.
“It helps to simplify the valuation process and work out a result that is approved by most of the other surveyors.”
Due to the increased use of artificial intelligence in business, employment patterns have changed in the labour market.
“The emergence of artificial intelligence reduces job opportunities in fields like customer services,” said Prof. Jerome Yen, an associate professor in the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
“Like other modern cities, Hong Kong is transforming into an information-based society; therefore, some jobs will disappear,” added he.
For example, fewer staff members will be needed in telephone hotline centers because most phonecalls can now be answered by computers.
Some property valuation companies fired staff due to the introduction of an artificial intelligence valuation system.
Compared to other stock trading companies that do not use artificial intelligence, Aastocks.com has a smaller number of staff.
“We need fewer commentators, reporters and financial analysts,” said Mr. Lu. “But, on the other end, we need more marketing salespeople and computer professionals – for example, business analysts and product analysts.
“We will very likely employ more computer experts in the future.”
Actually, artificial intelligence is not something new in Hong Kong. It was first introduced 20 years ago.
At that time, the technology was used to simulate the decision-making behaviours of human beings.
It was mainly composed of a rule-based system and used to help doctors make diagnoses.
Artificial intelligence was also used in financial markets to help make investment decisions.
Said Prof. Yen: “About 10 to 15 years ago, people already had begun to pay attention to the learning ability of artificial intelligence.
“Now, studying can even become automated with the application of artificial intelligence.”
Artificial intelligence not only makes people’s lives more convenient, but also makes the Internet world more transparent.
Although artificial intelligence has many advantages, it also has limitations.
Explained Prof. Yen: “Some experiences are not easy to be expressed in words or in formulate.
“Therefore, artificial intelligence cannot solve some problems that involve critical thinking.”
Still, the application of artificial intelligence in the business world continues to thrive all over the world.
In addition to Hong Kong, mainland China also is seeing the development of artificial intelligence.
Said Mr. Wong: “China and Hong Kong are just like the tortoise and the hare, respectively, in the story ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’.
“Although China is still lagging behind Hong Kong in the development of artificial intelligence at themoment, because of its cheaper resources and lower labour costs, it would not be surprising to me if it led Hong Kong one day.”
