For every automated trading system that is operating on major exchanges today, there are people responsible for its actions. If a system disrupts a market sign

For every automated trading system that is operating on major exchanges today, there are people responsible for its actions. If a system disrupts a market significantly, regulatory agencies work to be sure the responsible people are fined, banned from trading, or even imprisoned. There is no deferment of responsibility to "computers did it". Edit: Just have a look at the disiplinary notices of some of the exchanges to get a feel for this. For example, here are notices for Nasdaq: https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=NDisciplinaryActions https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=NDisciplinaryAct...