Appetite for Disruption: The Business and Regulation of FinTech

Melissa Netram heads LabCFTC, an office within the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission charged with understanding FinTech innovation and interfacing with the creators of new products and services.  She comes to the job with significant experience in regulatory policy around tech from her time in the private sector and previous government roles.  In leading LabCFTC, Melissa both educates and innovates, seeking the right balance between regulatory requirements and moving technology forward.  Consider signing up for LabCFTC’s office hours and meeting with her and her team as you move your project forward!  COVID-19:  Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the virus, and we applaud the workers on the front lines as they strive to bring the world through this troubling time.

We return with more thinking from Clara about how to accomplish trust and safety on the internet.  There are many players involved in the discussion, including government agencies, the press, brands, and think tanks, all of whom are committed to the health and welfare of society on (and off) the internet.  All have ideas about the right rules and outcomes.  One core point that Clara emphasizes is how anonymity allows people to engage in conduct they otherwise might avoid if they were identified, and there is little doubt that the internet allows people to gain much more information, including algorithmically biased information, than ever before.  The next few years will be consequential as people without access to the internet get online and as the world becomes increasingly digital.  Even through all of this, Clara remains optimistic, which gives Lee and Troy hope, as you will hear in our post-interview conversation.

COVID-19 shorts No. 5. Balaji Srinivasan paints a fraught picture of the world as a result of the virus, with advances in medical technology in the face of financial system difficulties and restrictions on movement. He sees the further rise of blockchain, cryptoassets and decentralized platforms but at the cost of central governments.

COVID-19 shorts No. 4. Samantha Radocchia talks about what she is seeing in the crisis world, where she sees technology and innovation heading and insights for the future of blockchain, cryptoassets and decentralized platforms.

Title: COVID-19 shorts No. 3. Brad Schneider talks about the world of data during this time of crisis, the role he sees for better data in the future and what might happen to contact tracing data once this troubling time ends.

COVID-19 shorts No. 2.  Prof. Sylvester Johnson talks about what he is seeing in the world of academia and AI, what innovations will come out of the crisis and what insights he has gained during this troubling time.

COVID-19 shorts. Mike Novogratz talks about what he is seeing in the world, where he thinks things are going and what insights hit him during this troubling time. 

Who are the policy makers of the internet?  Clara Tsao, an expert on content moderation and trust and safety on the internet, says that the people establishing the rules for what is (and is not) allowable content on a platform and the protocols for enforcing those rules are the policy makers.  Given the breadth of what’s on the internet (almost limitless content, potentially), the “line drawing” to decide what’s ok and what’s not ok is very difficult with lots of room for second-guessing.  Figuring out a policy about when it’s permissible to show something that might be risqué or how to balance free speech with protecting society from information that could incite terrorism or other physical threats presents key questions that Clara mentions.  Actually applying the rules once they are in place to particular situations is an especially difficult task.  Clara wakes us up to the complexity of trust and safety on the internet.

We delve further into the world of data and the integrity of information with Adaptive Management CEO, Brad Schneider (no relation).  More data is often better because you can look for agreement among the data and the difference observations that diverse data provide.  This can help cancel out some of the bias that can affect an individual data source.  All three of us speculate about how choosing a restaurant based on reviews might involve data analysis and thinking about what question is relevant (no statement or viewpoint about any restaurant review provider is intended).  The granularity of data matters too, as more granular data can illuminate more granular insights.  Listen in to our thoughts at the end after Brad took off.   

Since we recorded with Brad, Adaptive was acquired by Knoema, a knowledge management company.  Brad has started NoMad Data, which focuses on helping investment firms and corporations find and use novel sources of data to improve their visibility and efficiency.

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